Through the Rain
by ShimmerSweet
Summary: DISCONTINUED Prince Inuyasha and Princess Kagome are in love. Her mom hates demons but his parents are okay with their relationship. But what happens when lies come into play to start a war between the two kingdoms? What mayhem is in store?
1. Forbidden Love

_Through the Rain_

_Chapter 1_

_Forbidden Love_

_By ShimmerSweet_

_Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters from Inuyasha, I'm just a fan with an imagination. _

Today was one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced, well, so far that is.  The sky was clear, no signs of gray at all.  The birds sang happily and the surrounding forest seemed peaceful.  The ocean waters were crystal clear and lapping at the white sand and the sun reflected brightly off of the waters.  It was pretty hot but the gentle breeze made the heat bearable.  So more the reason for me to go outside and enjoy it, right?  But what would be even more enjoyable than this spring day would be Inuyasha.  I loved him and he loved me, but the only problem is that my family doesn't except him.  He meets all of their requirements, he's a prince, he's rich, loyal, and loves me, well all of the requirements except one—he's half demon.  I was going to see him today and I was going to make sure of that.

Even though the palace was a nice place to spend the day, outside was even better for today, and seeing Inuyasha was even better.  Even princesses had to leave the palace every now and then.  But I'm no ordinary princess and my mother is no ordinary queen, so therefore I'd have to sneak out.  

I left my room and crept around the corridors, snuck past the throne room, my mother's chambers and the den and ran down the main stairway.  I was almost there.  The front doors were right in front of me.  My hand was actually grasping the door handle.

"Kagome, where are you going?"  

"Oh, um, hello mother, I was just going um, outside, uh yeah, for a walk, yeah that's it."  

Wow, I was extremely smooth when it came to lying…….

My mother cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.  She stared at me straight in the eyes.  She was a rather antagonizing woman.  She knew I was lying, what person wouldn't know, because I'm a horrible liar, a horrible obvious liar.

"Kagome, I know you're lying.  Where are you really going?"  

How did I get into this, I thought she had a royal meeting to attend, but obviously she enjoyed catching me in the act more, than talking to royal snobs.

"I'm going outside for a walk in the garden, really.  You just caught me off guard."  

Well, I was telling the truth.  Okay, some of it anyway.  I was going to walk to the garden then go meet Inuyasha in our secret meeting place in the forest just beyond the garden, but she didn't need to know that part.

"Fine Kagome, but you better not be going to go see that boy.  What's his name, Inutasha isn't it."

How did she always figure out my every move?  It's quite amazing actually.

"His name is Inuyasha, and no I'm not going to see him.  I'm just going out for a walk.  Is that so much to ask?"

"Fine Kagome, but I don't want to have to come and look for you."

She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Or else the consequences will be severe."

Then I left.  I couldn't stand her presence anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I love my mother and we have, well had a great relationship until she found out about Inuyasha.  As I approached the garden entrance I pushed all thoughts of my mother to the back of my mind, I was too happy to let the thought of her get me down.  

When I entered the garden the smell of jasmines tickled my nose.  I followed the scent in order to find the lovely flowers.  I bent down to smell them, their fragrance was so divine up close, the other flowers weren't bad either, but my favorite flowers were towards the center of the garden.  So I ran my hand along the wall of neatly trimmed shrubbery that stood taller than me as I headed towards the center of the garden.  I dropped my hand from the shrub wall and walked over to the rose bush, not the normal red rose bush, but a white rose bush.  I don't know why I like them so much but I just do, maybe it's because you don't come across white roses all the time.  Or maybe it was their location in the garden.  They were neatly arranged around the only water fountain in the garden, it looked as if the roses were part of it.  They made the fountain come to life. 

Right in front of the fountain and roses was a bench that had rose engravings along the back and handles.  So I decided to take a seat and just admire the garden for a little while before I'd go to meet Inuyasha.  I sat back and closed my eyes and listened to my surroundings.  The gentle water flow from level to level on the fountain was soothing, the gentle chirping of the birds was relaxing, and the sun dancing softly across my face made this moment even better.  I was so relaxed I actually started to fall asleep but a gentle peck against my cheek brought me back to consciousness.  I batted my eyelids to clear my slightly blurred vision and once they focused on the presence next to me I smiled.

"Hey Inuyasha," I smiled as I sat up instead of slouching on the bench.

"Hello beautiful," he said as he handed me a white rose and took a seat next to me. 

I took it gratefully and kissed him on the cheek for his gift.  

"How'd you know they're my favorite?" I asked as I laid my head down on his shoulder.

"Just intuition I guess."

We just sat there in silence for a little while as I examined my gift.  That's when I remembered, and looked towards him, horror striking my heart.  

"Inuyasha, we can't be here.  Do you know the things my mother would do if she knew you were here?" 

He looked at me with the most loving eyes.

"Yes I do.  She'd probably through me in the dungeons for the rest of my life or worse, but it'd all be worth it, even if I only got to see you for only a minute."

I smiled and gave him a teasing kiss on his lips.

"Let's not stay and find out." 

 I told him and stood up.  He stood also and took my hand in his and guided me deep into the forest and to our secret meeting spot under the God Tree.  He sat down under the tree and pulled me gently into his lap.  Then we talked about all sorts of things for a while until he hugged me tight and kissed me on the nape of my neck.  His hot breath made my hair stand on end with excitement.  I leaned into him more and closed my eyes to relax.  He nibbled on my ear then whispered to me.

"Kagome, I need to tell you something important."

Then he positioned me in his lap so I was facing him and my legs straddled his torso. Sure we have kissed and hugged but he had never been this intimate with me so I was worried, but still trusted him with his actions and urged him on by nodding so he would proceed with what he wanted to say. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer and hugged and kissed me on my collar bone.  Then his eyes connected with mine.  His eyes were different.  They were still amber, but they had a soft and intense emotion there that I've never seen.  

"Kagome, this is the first time I have told anyone this, and when I say it I mean it."

Our eyes were still connected and the emotion that occupied his eyes only intensified as the silence between us expanded so I nodded slightly without breaking eye contact so he would continue.  He placed his hand on both sides of my face.  It seemed as if I could see into his soul.

"Kagome I—"

He was abruptly interrupted be a crash of thunder.  The sky had turned to a dark grey and the sun was setting.  We had been out here longer than I had thought.  What was I going to do?  I had been away from home for a while and my mother would know for sure that I was with Inuyasha, but I didn't care, I wanted to know what he was going to tell me.  Inuyasha then took me from his lap and stood up and offered a hand to me which I gratefully took. 

"You have to go home now Kagome before it starts to rain, and your mother is probably already suspicious so it's best for you to go now."

I put a hand on his cheek and kissed him gently on the lips and stared at him in his eyes.

"She can wait, and the rain can too, tell me what you wanted to say."

He covered my hand with his and kissed my palm.  Then he opened his mouth to tell me but that's when the heavens decided to open up and rain fell forcefully from the sky.  Within seconds we were both drenched in water.  He gave me his jacket, but it didn't help. 

"We have to go now Kagome, I'll tell ya later."

Then he took my hand and we ran back towards my palace.  Once we reached the forest's edge we stopped and took shelter under a tree.  

"Thank you Inuyasha," 

I told him as I handed him his jacket.  He took it and put it back on.  I had to give it back or my mother would become suspicious of the jacket's owner. 

"Can we meet again tomorrow at the same time?"  

I asked in hopes that he would say yes, but he just hugged me instead, then pulled back and smiled at me.

"I wish we could, but two days in a row is a little suspicious."

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace.  The chain was silver and resembled a vine and  there was a rose bud shaped pink diamond dangling from it.  The detail was spectacular.  All I could do was gasp in amazement; even though I was a princess I have never in my life seen a piece of jewelry this stunning.  This was the first piece of jewelry he had ever given me. I stared at him with my mouth open.  I was speechless.  He was staring at me with soft intensity in his eyes.  He was waiting for a response.  So I smiled at him a kissed him firmly on the lips.

"Inuyasha, it's so beautiful."  

He took the necklace from my hands and walked behind me, then whispered down the back of my neck.

"Lift your hair up love; I want to see you in it."

I eagerly obeyed, and he put it on me.

"Next time we meet, I have to tell you something important, but for now you have to go inside before you catch cold."

He turned me around gently and we kissed one last time.  He took a step back, his hands still on my shoulders, and smiled.

"You make that necklace look even more beautiful than what is was before."

Then he gave me a slight nudge so I would go inside, but instead I turned around to face him with a huge smile on my face.

"Thank you"

He smiled again then nodded towards the palace.

"Now go."

I took one last glance at him than ran back towards the palace.  I headed towards the garden than entered through the back of it and bumped into someone.  Who could possibly be out here in a heavy rain storm like this?  My answer was quickly answered as I looked up into the eyes of one of our guards.  I felt dread run through my veins, hoping that he wasn't out here looking for me.  If he was I was in serious trouble because my mother had warned me before I left that she better not have to come looking for me.

"Princess, come with me, the queen's orders."

That was all he said, than preceded to leading me into the palace through the main doors.  I was terrified because my fear had come true.  My mother had given me the same warning time after time to not see Inuyasha or stay out late but she had never really sent guards after me.  This was serious, and I was scared.  I followed the guard but I turned more attention to the crescent moon above me in the black sky.  This was the latest I've ever been out.  I always came back before the sun set.  But as I stared at the moon, I held the necklace that Inuyasha had given me in my palm and whispered his name.  Then I tucked it under my shirt so mother wouldn't see it.  If she knew it was from Inuyasha she would be livid.

We had just past the two guards outside of the front door and entered the palace and walked up the main staircase.  We continued down the corridor until we came to the throne room.  The guard stopped opened the door and assumed his position out side of the throne room and nodded for me to proceed.  I gulped and entered, and there was my mother, sitting at her throne and my grandfather sat in the king's throne next to her.  My grandfather wasn't king but liked to think he was, he felt it was his duty to fill my father's place since father had died in a war years ago and Souta was too young to become king and still is.  So my mother ruled the kingdom currently, but that was beside the point.  The point now was that I was in serious trouble.  

My mother looked actually pretty calm and so did Grandpa.  Maybe I wasn't in trouble at all!  Or maybe I was just hoping for something that had no way of coming true.  Grandpa looked at me and smiled gently.  He came over to me and hugged me tight then kissed me on the forehead.  He pulled away and looked at me with his gentle and caring eyes.

"Kagome, we were so worried about you.  No matter what your mother says or does she was worried too.  We both care about you deeply.  Remember Kagome, I support what you do, only if it's for a good cause.  I hope you staying out late was a good cause because your mother was worried and angry at the same time about you."

Grandpa patted me on the shoulder than left the room so my mother and I could talk.  I didn't want him to leave but this was a discussion my mother and I would have to have in private.  My mother rubbed her temples and tried to keep a calm face but she wasn't succeeding at it.  She stopped rubbing her eyes than looked at me.  Surprisingly her eyes weren't angry but sad.  She was sad?  If anything I would have thought she would be angry with me.

"Kagome, where were you."

My mother's voice was barely above a whisper.  I was starting to hurt inside from her sorrow.  I was still dumbfounded at the fact that she was sad and not mad.  I kept thinking about it until I noticed I hadn't answered her question.  So I swallowed so I could speak.  I didn't like lying to my mother but I couldn't tell her the truth.  Lying was my only option.

"I was out in the garden, then went to the beach, and then—"

"No more lies Kagome!"

My mother yelled at me.  It shattered my heart.  Sure we have had out arguments in the past but in all of them she had never yelled at me like this before.  The sadness was still in her eyes but the anger she had bottled up reached its peak.  She stood and was literally shaking with anger.  I REALLY felt bad for lying to my mother but I loved Inuyasha too much.  I just couldn't let her find out.

"Mother, I'm not lying.  After I was done on the beach I went for a walk in the forest and got lost.  Honest!"

"So you're telling me that you didn't go see Inuyasha and do God knows what."

"No I didn't.  I'm telling you the truth."

I was becoming a great liar and I wasn't proud of it.  I guess she intimidated me so greatly that my lying skills went from horrible like this morning to fantastic as of now.  The way my mother's facial expression changed so suddenly startled me but I tried my best to not let it show.  She went from explosive volcano mode to her normal calm and collected ways.  She stared at me, her eyes still sad.

"Kagome, are you telling the_ honest truth."_

She believed me!  I answered her but not too quickly or she would know I was lying.

"Yes mother."

My mother's eyes looked so relieved.  She smiled then walked over to me and hugged me lightly.

"I was so worried about you Kagome.  I thought that you had been kidnapped or worse, went to be with that _thing_ you call a man. Inuyasha is his name, right?"

She basically spat the word thing. I couldn't stand it when she talked about Inuyasha like he was scum.  So of course I had to say something.  That was one problem I had—I never knew when to shutup.  So I pushed away from my mother and scowled at her.

"Why must you talk about him as if he's scum?  You've only met him once and he treated you with the most respect I have ever seen in my life.  But still you hate him for what he was born, and that's something he can't help or change.  Why can't you just judge him for his personality instead of his heritage?"

Okay, that was a mistake on my part, but I had to say something.  I just couldn't let her talk about him like that when he's not even around to defend himself.

"Kagome, he's a demon and—"

"He's a hanyou"

"It doesn't matter Kagome.  He still has demon background and—"

"But his other half is human"

"Kagome, a demon is a demon, full or half it doesn't matter.  They're all dangerous and I refuse to have you fall in love with him."

"Mother you don't underst—"

"Kagome, please."

My mother held her hand up to her temple again and shut her eyes in irritation before going on.  I didn't say anything else because she was obviously stressed so I didn't want to make it any worse than what it was.  She withdrew her hand and opened her eyes slowly.

"Kagome, I really don't want to discuss this anymore, especially tonight."

She stepped closer and hugged me tight.  She hugged me as if it was the last time she would ever see me.  She's hasn't held me this close for years.

"Kagome, I was really worried about you.  I didn't know what I'd do if you never came home.  I was terrified, I just didn't know—"

She pulled away from me and cocked an eyebrow.  Her eyes glided to where my necklace was under my shirt.  Oh my God, had she felt it through my shirt when she hugged me.  Her hand grasped the gem without removing it from my shirt.

"Kagome what's this?"

"It's just—"

I didn't finish my sentence because she had pulled it out of my shirt and studied it.  Her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Oh, it's beautiful Kagome, where did you get it?  I never remember you wearing it before."

As I scrambled my brain for an excuse she flipped it over and frowned.  What could have possibly caused this reaction?  Was it chipped?  I hoped it wasn't because I had just received it.  She looked at me and anger filled her eyes again. 

"I thought you didn't go to see Inuyasha again."

She dropped it around my neck and took a step back.  I was confused now so I decided to look at the gem myself.  I flipped it over on the back and it read in the tiniest script:

'_I love you now,_

_And I always will,_

_No matter what, _

_Never forget that _

_My love is real._

_Love, Inuyasha'_

I was in shock.  My heart fluttered and I felt lighter than usual.  Is that what he wanted to tell me that was so important?  That he loved me?  He had called me love before but never told me he loved me.  

"Kagome, how could you!  You went to go see him didn't you?"

There was no need to hide it anymore.  I had been busted.  I accepted it so I responded truthfully.  There was nothing else I could do now besides dig myself deeper into this pit of despair.  I couldn't look her in the eyes so I looked at my feet.

"Yes, I did."

I slowly looked up to see how angry my mother had gotten but she wasn't there.  This was strange.  Why did she just leave like that?  I found out that answer when she came storming back in.  Her motives were starting to scare me.

"Kagome, you lied to me deliberately!  I can't believe you!  Has he corrupted you this much!  What were you doing with him for that amount of time!"

Mother was fuming and I was afraid to answer, but I did anyway, or tried too.

"Well, we—"

"Kagome I don't even want to know anymore!  I am so disappointed in you!  I never raised a liar so it must be his influence!"

"No Mother!  It's not his f—"

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is Kagome!  Because you won't see him for a long time or ever again if I can help it!"

Mother was starting to scare me now.  What did she mean that I wouldn't see him for a long time?  Nothing can keep me from him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're leaving; you're going to the bordering human country to our kingdom so you can go to an all girl's school there.  I love you too much to have you stay here and sneak off to see him every time you get a chance."

She had stopped yelling and stepped closer to me, anger still drenching her eyes.

"Go get your valuables because I left earlier to summon a carriage and it will be here soon.  You're leaving tonight."

End of chapter 1 


	2. Kagome's Capture

_Through the Rain___

_Chapter 2_

_Kagome's Capture _

_By ShimmerSweet_

After a rather tense argument, a few glass objects thrown, and a bright red hand print on my face, I was sent outside to my carriage and waited there, in the rain, for my possessions.  I didn't go to my room to retrieve my 'valuables' because the item that meant the most to me dangled around my neck.  I gently ran my middle finger over every little detail and smiled to my self. It didn't matter to me that I was waiting outside in the pouring rain for the carriage and my bags, because nothing else mattered to me now, I was in a state of shock because I knew of Inuyasha's true feelings. Inuyasha gave this to me out of love, it was his way of saying he loved me, that's right, he loved me, and I loved that idea, and continued grinning even more, if that was even physically possible.  I was filled with content, because I knew I loved him too, and this arrangement that my mother set up for me to go to the all girls' school was not going to keep me away from Inuyasha.  Nothing would, can, or will keep me from him, because he is the love of my life and nothing can keep me from him.  I would find a way to get back to him, and just the thought of me being with him again kept my star struck gaze and cheesy grin plastered on my face.  Well, I was smiling until one of the guards took me by the arm and forcefully, but gently put me into the carriage.  After my luggage was packed and loaded, the horseman cracked his reins and the horses started to pull away from the castle in a slow trot.  My mother stood outside and watched with a stiff face as the carriage pulled away.  Our eyes made contact through the glass and my heart strings tugged.  When her eyes connected with mine she quickly looked away with a frown and slammed the palace door behind her.  Did I see what I thought I just saw, or did the rain flowing down the window disorient my mother's actions?  No, it was no illusion; she just stared at me with hatred as if she were….. disowning me?  I was hurt by her actions, by the way she just turned on her heels as if I were nothing to her, like I was the dirt beneath her feet.  Did she love me anymore?  Was she hurting emotionally, or was it joyous to her to cause me so much pain?  I pondered and thought on these conclusions as the carriage traveled down the dirt road for about 40  miles outside of my kingdom until the carriage took a rather violent jolt and came to a sudden halt.  

A little worried I opened the door to see what was going on, and hopped out of the carriage.  The minute I stepped out I was soaked from head to toe, the rain poured from the heavens with such force that my delicate, soft skin started to tingle, and turn pink, it was pouring so hard that I could barely see a foot in front of me.  So I shielded my eyes from the forceful rain by holding my arm up above my eyes, and searched for the horseman.  He was on the other side of the carriage, down on one knee and analyzing the wooden wheel.  He looked up towards me and gave a little smile.  I returned a concerned face instead, my facial expressions obviously stating my worried questions about the broken wheel.

"Me lady, it's only minor damage, no need to fret, now, please get back inside of the carriage. I don't want you standing out here, you might catch cold."

Understanding his reasoning, I nodded my head and got back in the carriage and scooted over to the spot I had originally been sitting.  I sat there and looked through the window, observing the scenery.  There were tall mountains that had a collage of iridescent colors, and majestic trees that stood just as tall and proud, but the whole scene was draped in a gloomy blanket due to the weather.  When it rained it seemed as if everything lost its bright colors and gentleness and was instead replaced with the bland, droopy color gray, and its sad presence.  And I was slipping into that sad feeling—correction, I was already there.  I'd been in this mood ever since my mother told me I'd be leaving, but that sad unwanted feeling was torn away as I turned my head to stare out the other set of windows on the carriage.  There was a castle set by the forest's side.  It was pretty far away, I had to squint in order to see it.  It was extravagant and masculine, with a tall black fence surrounding the entrance to it.  There was an engraved name on the front gate so I squinted even harder to see the name, just out of curiosity.  To my surprise it read 'Inu Youkai Domain'.

My mouth hung wide open and happiness replaced my sadness and grief immediately.  It was Inuyasha's homeland that we were stranded at!  Now, that I thought of it, an hour had passed and the horseman still hadn't fixed that 'minor' problem with the wheel.  So I reached to open the door so I could ditch this guy and run to Inuyasha—straight into his arms.  The door whipped open without me even putting my hand on the handle, I yelped with surprise, but calmed down once I noticed it was just the horseman.

"My apologies me lady, for scaring thee, but I have to go and gather some sticks to try and prepare the wheel, you just stay put."  

He smiled at me once again and dashed off towards the woods.  Actually he ran pretty fast for an older man with a head full of gray hair.  Once he vanished into the foliage I smiled to myself, this was the perfect time for my escape.  This way I could be with Inuyasha, and away from my mother and that stuck up private all girls school she was sending me to.  I forced open the door and ran in the castle's direction.

I ran at the forest's edge at a speed I didn't even know I possessed.  I guess it was my need to be in Inuyasha's arms that drove and pushed my body past its normal limits.  Running in the sand at the forest's edge was tiring.  Wait, why did a forest even have sand? My question was answered once I pasted a huge lake. Well I guess I should be grateful and not complain about the sand because all I had to do was follow the sandy beach's path and it would eventually lead me to the Inu Mamoru Castle.   

When I finally reached Inu Kingdom, I ran through the villages and towns with undying speed, while receiving odd looks from the villagers who watched from their windows inside their cozy homes.  Now that I think about it, it isn't every day you see someone of royalty, in expensive garments running through the rain like a mad woman, but this was only my second time coming to this kingdom so they probably didn't even know that I was the princess of the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom.  When I reached the gates to the Inu Castle there were two rather large Inu demon guards with shoulder length silver hair and expressionless faces.  I looked up at them.

"Let me in please, I need to see Inuyasha"  

I was on the brink of tears. I was so happy that I was going to see him, because nothing would keep us from each other.  I loved him too much to let anything stop me.  The guard on the left looked down at me with the same expressionless face.

"You must have an arrangement or appointment to enter."

Then he turned his head back in its original direction, staring straight ahead into nothingness--assuming his regular position.  Okay, he wasn't in a particular good mood, who would?  After all he did have to stand outside in the pouring rain and assume the same position until the end of his shift.  So I turned to the other guard, hoping he was in a better mood and asked the same question but he replied in the same sense as the guard before him.  

Okay, so neither of them would allow me to enter, well I would just have to find another way…

I walked away from the main gates and rounded the corner to the side of the castle's brick brigades when I was sure the guards weren't looking.  Then I desperately tried to climb up the side of the outer gate wall.  Clawing and scraping at the wall in desperate attempts to climb the wet and slick surface.  After attempting this feat for a few minutes, I realized it would take me longer than what I thought to get inside the castle.

~

Meanwhile, in the forest by the broken carriage, a dark figure in a bamboo cloak was quietly hiding behind a tree.  Like the creepy figure he is, he sat there, waiting for someone to appear.  Then, from around the corner a woman emerged, with an evil grimace.

"Kagura, is everything falling into plan?"  

The woman's smirk glistened.

"Everything is running smoothly so far Naraku.  The wheel is broken just as it is supposed to be, and Inuyasha's woman, has as predicted, left for his castle."

Naraku smiled his evil smile at this news and nodded towards the carriage and its driver.

"Now, all we have to do is kill him… and notify Queen Higurashi of the 'attack' and her daughter's sudden capture, by the Demon Kingdom, where King Inu Mamoru rules…"

Kagura's smile suddenly dropped to a frown.

"Who would tell her of this news?  And why would she believe that person?"

Kagura stated as she stared at the horseman still tending the broken wheel.  He had to be either extremely dumb or unobservant to not notice the princess was no longer in the carriage.

Naraku smiled and stood from his sitting position.  He walked up to the carriage and tapped the unexpected horseman on the shoulder.  When he turned around, Naraku slashed the man in two.  Naraku ripped the door off its hinges and shredded the seats, flipped the carriage and set the horses free so it looked as if an attack occurred in the carriage.  He turned around to look at Kagura.

"You were in the forest looking for medical herbs and saw everything.  You saw the murder of the horseman and Princess Higurashi's capture.  You saw how brutal the Inu Youkai were to them.  So you go running to the queen and tell her what you saw, and she will undoubtedly come to the scene of the attack, and seek vengeance on the Inu Youkai and demand her daughter's safe return……  Now go, and tell the queen of the events that have taken place here.  She will believe your alibi." 

"As you wish Naraku…"

With those words Kagura was gone, and left Naraku to himself.  Naraku grinned to himself and disappeared.  Leaving behind his echoing words.

"My revenge _will_ take place…."

~

After about 5 more attempts at crawling up the gate wall, and each time resulting in me falling on my butt and groaning in pain, one of the guards rounded the wall and approached me.  His expression was still lifeless, and his voice was dull. 

"Miss, you know that I have to take you to the king now for your attempted crime of breaking and entering.  Now he has to decide what to do with you."

This was great!  The king knew me, he met me once before… surely he wouldn't let anything happen to me. Then he took me forcefully by the arm, and dragged me to the front gate where the other guard opened it for him.  He dragged me up the sidewalk to the front doors, where another set of guards were stationed.  The guard asked for clearance and was immediately let inside.  He brought me down the winding corridors until we came to a set of huge doors where two more guards were stationed.  They nodded their head at the guard who was man handling me, then opened the doors and let us in.  The king—King Mamoru was sitting in his throne reading a book and the queen's throne was empty.  No other royalty occupied the room except for himself, but there were about ten more guards stationed in the throne room with him, all with the same expressionless statures as all the other guards.  The guard that held me tightly around the arm pulled me before King Mamoru and threw me down on my knees at his feet.  The guard held his sword's point at the nape of my neck and told me to bow my head towards the king for I was a 'peasant' and didn't deserve to look at him.

"Your Majesty, this human wench was caught trying to break and enter the castle's walls.  I was unsure of her purposes, so I decided to take her to you so you can decide what to do with her."

After the guard's statement the king withdrew his attention from his book and looked at me.  I could feel his gaze.

"Let her look at me… then I shall decide of her intentions, for the eyes never lie."

The guard withdrew his sword and I slowly looked up at the king hoping that he would recognize me.  I really didn't want to be sentenced to death or thrown in the dungeons….  Once our eyes connected his stern facial features dropped and his forehead knitted together in question.  He closed his book and set it to his side, then leaned forward a little and squinted his eyes to get a better view of me.  

"Kagome?"

He questioned, then sat up straight in his seat again.  Relief ran through my veins at his recognition. I let out the breath that I didn't even know I was holding in, and looked at him.  I started to smile and tears started to fall from my eyes.

"Yes, King Mamoru, it's me…  I'm sorry that I interrupted you from your book but I just had to get here no matter what the means…  My mother was sending me to an all girls school because she—"

"Slow down dear, and please get off of your knees, a princess should never have to be on her knees."  

He motioned for me to stand and waved at the guard so he would leave.  He stood from his throne and hugged me tightly.

"I know you must have been through a lot, and I want to hear everything, but first I would like for you to come with me, so we can talk privately, and get you some dry clothing."

He had one of his servants lead me into a changing chamber full of extravagant clothes.  It had about 10 long racks of beautifully designed clothing.  The maid presented me with a towel to dry off with.  So I happily took it and proceeded in drying my hair and skin. Then she left me again and came back rather quickly with a crimson, silk dress, which had a neck that opened at the midpoint of my chest, which allowed my necklace to glimmer with pride.  All of the seams were trimmed in gold lace, and the long sleeves and torso part of the dress clung to my skin like a second skin.  While from the waist down it flowed freely at my ankles.  She presented me with ruby heels, which I thought were stunning, for I have never seen such shoes before up close. I liked the queen's taste in clothes; even though it was very English I still liked it.  I changed into the dress then the maid led me to the vanity so she could 'dress' me up.  She took my now dry locks and put it in a low bun with a lace of gold wrapped around it.  She tried to put makeup on me but I reclined, I couldn't stand the stuff, it made me feel, well, fake, as if people were looking at a mask and not at me.  The maid tried to take of my necklace so she could put other diamonds and jewelry on me that she thought looked better but that didn't happen because I shooed away her hand before she could even touch it.  I didn't want any more of her assistance so I kindly asked her to take me back to King Mamoru, of which she did.  

King Mamoru led me out of the throne room and led me into a room with many pieces of expensive comfortable looking furniture.  All the couches and chairs were a deep blue and it sat around a bear skin rug.  The redwood tables were extravagant with majestic engravings, and were decorated with flower pots and different statues.  Expensive pictures and family portraits hung from the wall and a bay window sat parallel to the room's doors.  The heavy blue velvet curtains were drawn.  The king went over to them and opened the curtains to let some sunlight in, even though there wasn't much sunlight present due to the heavy rain storm.  He sat on the navy blue cushions in the bay window and motioned for me to take a seat next to him.  So I sat next to him and stared at my tightly clenched hands in my lap.  I didn't want to seem rude so I wouldn't speak until I was spoken to, then I felt his firm hand on my chin and he gently twisted my head to face him.  He looked at me with soft caring eyes.

"Before I call Inuyasha I want to ask you a couple of questions."

He with drew his hand and glance and drew in a deep breath, and slowly let it out.  Then he looked at me again, his eyes connecting with mine.

"Now Kagome dear, I love you like you were my own daughter, and I hope you know that you can tell me anything…  So, as a parental figure I must ask you, does your mother know that you are here, because I do know what she thinks of demons…."

I stared back down at my lap and ran my finger across the necklace Inuyasha had given me.  I made eye contact with King Mamoru.

"No, she doesn't but I do have good reason for being here…"

He seemed to understand and smiled gently towards me.  

"You may continue…"

I swallowed hard and started my story.

"Well, Inuyasha and I were planning a secret meeting, but before I had a chance to go meet him, my mother had caught me leaving the palace… She asked where I was going and I said I was going to the garden which was true, but it wasn't all the truth.  She told me to come back at a certain time or else the consequences would be severe.  So I went to the garden, which is where he came to meet me…"

Kagome stopped to see how the king was taking the new and looked from her lap to see that his expression was still understanding and soft, so she continued.

"We went into the forest and stayed out longer than expected.  Before we knew it, the sky had turned gray and it started to rain.  We rushed back to my castle but before I went in he gave me a necklace which I made sure I tucked under my clothing before I entered the castle.  On my way in a guard had caught me and brought me straight to my mother.  She was pretty angry and she asked where I had been and I lied, I told her I wasn't with Inuyasha.  She believed me and hugged me out of relief for my safety.  She felt the necklace under my clothing and pulled it out and read the engravings on the back of it…."

My finger slid across my necklace again as I turned it over for the king to read it.  He looked at it then at me and seemed to give me a little smile, his eyes glistened and urged for me to continue.  So I continued to stare at my lap and twiddled my thumbs.

"She was outraged at the fact that I was with Inuyasha for so long and also for lying to her.  She immediately called a carriage, and sent me off to an all girls school.  I was in the carriage riding until our wheel broke.  So the horseman told me he had to go gather some supplies from the forest and he would be right back.  Once he left I saw your kingdom and came running as fast as I could.  The guards wouldn't let me in so I tried to climb the gate and then you know the story from there."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly then looked up towards the king.  He returned the stare and smiled.  

"Sounds like you really love my son."

I made direct eye contact with him and returned his smile as tears started to fall from my eyes.

"You have no idea how much I love him, I would do anything for him.  But I was unsure of my feelings for so long, because we have been seeing each other for about two years and he never told me he loved me.  When he gave me this necklace, it all became crystal clear on how he felt and how I felt.  And now I know I want nothing more than to be with him for the rest of my life."  

King Mamoru dried my tears with his finger, hugged me then stood, walking towards the door. 

"I'm flattered to hear your feelings towards my son, but you should be telling him the exact same things you told me."

King Mamoru placed his hand on my shoulder as if to reassure me.

"I'll go get the queen and Inuyasha, you can tell them your story of how you came to be here.  Then I'll let you spend time with Inuyasha for tonight, because tomorrow morning I must inform your mother of your whereabouts, for no parent should have to worry about the whereabouts of their child."

With those words King Mamoru left the room and left her there to think.  Think about what she just said about her true feelings, think about what she had gone through today, and think about how exhausted she was after today's events.  So I relaxed on the couch until the king, queen, and Inuyasha arrived.  Once I laid eyes on Inuyasha my eyes lit up and glistened just as much as his did.  Immediately we rushed into each other's arms.  Inuyasha picked me up and swung me around in circles causing us to laugh like children.  Once he put me down, he kissed me on the lips in a deep passionate kiss.  When he pulled away from me I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment because both of his parents had witnessed the scene that just took place.  Inuyasha smiled at me and hugged me close.

"What are you doing here love?"

And with those words, I went on to explain the long story once again to Inuyasha and the queen.  After I was done explaining King Mamoru and Queen Eriko left us alone in the 'navy' room.  I stared at Inuyasha in the eyes and hugged him close.  We stood like that for a while because neither of us wanted to ruin the moment. 

"Kagome, what I was trying to say earlier was in fact very important, and I think now is a good time to tell you."

He gently separated us so we could make eye contact, and I was hanging on his every word.  He caught a glimpse of my necklace and gently grasped it in his palm.  

"The engravings that are on the back of this necklace are supposed to tell you of how I feel for you even though I'm not great with words I hope it did the job."

He let go of the necklace and ran his hand through my loose locks and made eye contact once again.  His eyes were so soft and full of emotion, that it made me feel good all over, just like the sun's warm rays dancing on your skin.  He smiled gently at me.

"I love you Kagome, and I have for a long time, but just never knew how to say it, and after I finally figured out what it was…"

I smiled at him as silent tears of joy once again ran down my cheeks.

"I love you too Inuyasha, I just never knew how you felt so I was afraid to tell you of my feelings towards you.  After you gave me this necklace, I definitely knew that I loved you and that I would love to spend the rest of my life with you."

Inuyasha smiled then pulled me into another embrace.

"And I do too, love."

~

"Queen Higurashi!  Queen Higurashi!"  

Kagura had come barging into the throne room, somehow managing to get past all of the guards.  Queen Higurashi turned around quickly to see what the matter was and what was so urgent.  As the guards apprehended Kagura and started to take her away the queen approached her, making the guards cease in their actions.

"What is it that you want child?  Why have you interrupted my household?"

"It's your daughther!  The princess' carriage was attacked and the driver was murdered!  They took the princess!  The whole thing was horrible!"

The queen's face dropped at this news, but quickly straightened.

"And how would you know of this?"

"I was out gathering medical herbs for a dying friend, and I saw the whole thing!  After the event I came running here immediately."

The queen's face was covered in grief and in fear.

"Do you know of who could have done this?"

Kagura smiled inwardly to herself then proceeded.

"That I do, it was the Inu Youkai, there's no mistaking there silver locks…."

Immediately Queen Higurashi faced the captain of the guard.

"I want you to take this young woman so she can lead you to the scene of the crime.  If it is indeed true than I want you to get our troops ready because I will do everything in my power to get my little girl back safely."

A/N:  Wow, this was a long one.  I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.  Please be patient with me because it may be a whole week before I can get the third chapter posted.  After all it's that magical time of the school year—finals! 


	3. Interrupted

_Through the Rain_

_Chapter 3_

_Interrupted _

_By ShimmerSweet_

"That's where it happened…"

Kagura stated as she pointed to the carriage and masking her voice in sympathy.  The captain of the guard stopped dead in his tracks and so did the five soldiers he brought with him.  The captain was absolutely disgusted at this horrific sight, but he had to get closer to investigate the attack, to ensure it was the Inu Youkai who were the attackers.  He, Kagura, and his men went up closer to the scene.  The captain dismounted his horse, and shut his eyes in disgust at how viciously the driver was attacked—he was sliced in two.  The captain and his men set the carriage up straight so the captain could investigate it.  He looked inside until his eye fell on a slight strand of silver hair that had great contrast with the black lining of the seat in the carriage.  He held it up close to inspect it more carefully.

"Yup, it has to be the Inu Youkai who attacked this carriage.  They're the only demons that I know of that have silver hair such as this."

The captain dropped the hair and stared toward his soldiers. 

"Men, I want you two of you to inspect the carriage to see if you find any more clues as to where they could have gone or why they would have kidnapped the princess—a ransom note, or something of the sort. The other three I want to split up and investigate the surrounding forest for any evidence of where they might of gone, look for foot prints or tracks of some sort, they should show up well now that it has stopped raining and the mud is still wet...  I shall look in the forest also.  I want all of you men to report back here in a half hour's time to report of your findings, now go."

On his signal the soldiers left to do as they were told and so was the captain until he felt a slight tug on his sleeve.  He looked down to see Kagura with an innocent smile plastered on her face.

"Excuse me captain…. um, captain… well, would you mind telling me your name? I don't seem to know it."

He smiled back at her with a genuine smile.

"Me lady, my name is Captain Dojan, and I would like to personally thank you of your service to the queen.  And if I may ask the same of you, what is your name?"

Kagura smiled sweetly at him and batted her eyes.

"My name is Kagura… and I would really like it if you would take me into the forest with you because I think I may be able to show you what section of the forest they went running through…"

Captain Dojan smirked at her in a playful way.

"I would love for you to show me, it may just lead us down the right path to where they could have gone…"

Kagura and Captain Dojan both went into the forest, leaving Dojan's horse behind, for it would be too much of a task to bring a horse along while trying to scan the forest floor for clues.  Kagura led Dojan into a dark secluded area of the forest far away from the other soldiers.  Dojan became a little questionable of her leading him this deep into the forest, so he drew his sword in case any sort of wild animal or beast emerged from hiding..

"Kagura, don't you think this is kind of far into the forest…..  and if it's this deep in the forest how would you know they came this way if you were supposedly on the outskirts of the forest collecting medical herbs?"

At this point Dojan started to catch on to her fake act for not everything in her story fit together.  Was she part of the attack?  What was she up to?  So he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword just in case, even though there was no doubt in his mind that he could easily take her down.  After he had stated his question Kagura stopped dead in her tracks and quickly turned to face him.

"I wouldn't know, would I?  But you're a smart man, and by now I know you figured out there was something peculiar about my alibi.  Well, since I knew that you would catch on I decided to bring you here, so Naraku can make good use of your body…"

At this point Naraku emerged from the shadows of the forest.  All of the color drained from Dojan's face as he positioned his sword for battle.  He couldn't believe that he had fallen into a trap.

"Who the hell are you people and what are you trying to accomplish?"

Naraku took another step closer and gave his evil smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

With those last words Naraku murdered Dojan in the same way he had done the horseman—he was slice in two.  Kagura looked towards Naraku as if nothing had just happened, as if the murder of a man was not important, as if it were common.  Her face was back to her usual stone expression.

"Okay, I've brought you the captain of the guard, I believe his name was Dojan.  Now, what are you going to do with him since it was so important to bring him here."  

Naraku kneeled down by the body of Dojan, and tutted.

"Poor fool…"

Naraku pressed his forefingers to Dojan's forehead and instantly Dojan's corpse disintegrated to ashes and blew away in a slight gust of wind.  Naraku stood and faced Kagura.

"Now, Kagura, tell me of what Queen Higurashi said once she heard of your story of her daughter's capture…"

With an expressionless face Kagura responded.

"She said that if the attack was in deed true to come back and notify her of the attackers because she said that she would order the troops to get ready for an attack on them… which in this case is the Inu Youkai."

Naraku smirked in his usual malice way.

"Perfect, now all we have to do is go and tell her of the evidence we have found here, for I'm sure that Captain Dojan has already found the planted silver Inu Youkai hair in the carriage… he did find it, am I correct?"

Kagura rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth.

"When have you ever been wrong Naraku?  Of course he found the hair."

"I just wanted to hear you say that I am never wrong."

Naraku answered with his continuing evil smirk that didn't seem to leave his face ever since everything was going his way in life as of now.  Kagura rolled her eyes once again.

"But there's still one problem…  Did you ever think of what the soldiers might think if I returned back to their meeting place with out Captain Dojan?  Don't you think that would be a little suspicious?"

"Have you no faith in me Kagura?  I also have that planned out, Captain Dojan will be returning back to the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom, it will seem as if he was never gone."

"And what shall I tell the men about their missing captain?"

"Not a thing Kagura, for you will be returning to the group of soldiers with you."

Kagura cocked and eyebrow in question.

"What are you playing at Naraku?  Captain Dojan is dead."

"That's true, but I will be Captain Dojan for now, I have some personal favors to return to the King Inu Mamoru once the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom launches their attack on the Inu Youkai Kingdom.  For if I'm the captain, I will have the privilege of leading the Jidai army into the destruction of the Inu Youkai Kingdom."

After that statement Naraku's baboon pelt melted away to unveil the face of the decease Captain Dojan.  Naraku looked exactly like Dojan, he had the tiny scar above his left eye, his neatly shaved face, the captain's unifom and even his unruly short brown locks of hair.  Kagura could see no difference between Naraku and the real Captain Dojan.

"Let's go Kagura, we don't want to keep the soldiers waiting, now do we?  We do have to get a war started after all."

Naraku turned abruptly on his heel as Captain Dojan used to do, and he even walked and sounded like the former captain.  

'Naraku did have everything planned to his liking, didn't he?'

After this slight thought Kagura quickly left her current spot so she could catch up to Naraku.  

Hours later on their return Naraku got his way and persuaded Queen Higurashi into battle with the Inu Youkai Kingdom.  The Sengoku Jidai troops were already marching towards the eastern lands of the Inu Youkai Kingdom. 

~

After his parents left us in the room we talked for a bit and then he took me on a tour of the castle.  It was so extravagant.  My mother would have died of envy if she saw it.  It looked exactly like Cinderella's castle.  The out side walls were and inside floors were made of marble.  Each room had its own personality and not one was found with out extravagant and expensive decorations.  The guest bedrooms were the sizes of about four family huts, and the royal bedrooms were the size of about three of those guestrooms. The kitchens were just as big as any other room in the castle.  The dining room was beautiful and consisted of gold and red decorations.  We went in about 20 more rooms, but didn't dare go to the dungeons.  I just didn't like them, they always creeped me out. But my favorite room of all was the room we went to next.  When we had come to the doors I knew there had to be something special about this room.  The doors were big and mad out of redwood that had impressively detailed engravings of rose vines on it, but the door had a big key lock across its handles.  Inuyasha nodded to the two guards standing each end of the doors who proceeded in unlocking the doors.  But Inuyasha had me close my eyes before the doors were opened because he wanted it to be a surprise.  He took my hand and led me into what I thought was the center of the room, the only sound I heard was the clicking of my heels.  He stopped me and rested his chin on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

"You can open your eyes now."

I opened them and my eyes instantly widened.  I gasped at what I saw, I just couldn't believe that a room such as this existed.  The walls and cracks in the floor were trimmed in gold!  I looked at Inuyasha with pleading eyes so I could inspect the rest of the room.  He grinned at me and nodded his head.  I went over to the wall to feel the wall.  For some reason it was bumpy so I took a closer look to discover diamonds, emeralds, rubies, safires, and other iridescent gems were wedged into the wall.  The windows were crystal clear and reached all the way to the ceiling and the long golden silk drapes were breathtaking.  I looked up at the ceiling which was painted.  The ceiling was painted with all sorts of flowers—from my favorite, roses to other flowers that were just as gorgeous such as lilies and jasmines. On the other wall adjacent to the one with the windows sat two golden thrones with red cushions, which of course belonged to the King Mamoru and Queen Eriko.  Back over to the wall where the windows were there was a pair of glass doors that of course were trimmed in gold.  I opened them and on the other side was a beautiful balcony.  It had dainty white garden chairs and tables and the center edge of the balcony had tulips planted on the outer hanging edge.  And the crescent moon just lit up the sky, complimenting the balcony.  Inuyasha sat on the balcony wall and motioned for me to take a seat next to him.  I happily obeyed and he took me into a light embrace.

"Do you like the ballroom?"

I looked up at him and nodded quickly which earned a light laugh from Inuyasha.

"This ballroom has to be the most beautiful room I have ever seen in my life.  Just looking at this room as me gawking in awe, the way I reacted to seeing this room one would think that I wasn't royalty and had never had nice things before.  This castle is so beautiful!  It makes my castle look like a hut or something…  This room almost makes me feel like a queen."

I giggled at my own statement and hugged Inuyasha tight.  He pulled me to his chest and placed his chin on top of my head.

"You know, I can make you feel like my queen for the night."

I sat back and looked him in the eyes.  His amber orbs were full of anticipation.  I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"How, can you make me feel like a queen?"

A sly grin slid across his lips and he stood and took my hand in his.

"Come with me."

Inuyasha took me into the center of the room and we stood there for a while.

"What now?"

I asked and he just smirked at me.

"This…"

He clapped his hands and from the side doors where servants from the kitchen would exit, about 15 inu youkai dressed in fancy black robes emerged.  Each one holding some type of instrument and they headed towards the corner of the room where the band would sit.  They all took their seats and the conductor stood at the center stand and proceeded in orchestrating the band.  Slow, soft, and mellow music filled the room and I was so full of glee that I giggled like a little girl. He laughed at my reaction and held out his hand to me.

"May I have this dance, Princess Kagome."

I smiled at him and placed my hand in his palm.

"Of course, Prince Inuyasha, I would be honored."

We danced for hours in each others' arms, just enjoying the time together that the gods had allowed us to have.  My head was laid on his shoulder as we glided across the dance floor.  As the music entered its poco ritardando Inuyasha whispered in my ear.

"Kagome, you know we've been in here dancing all night, the sun is rising..."

My head shot up from his shoulder and I looked at him in a questionable but gentle manner.

"Really?  It hasn't seemed that long.  I guess time just flies when you're with the one you love…"

I smiled gently and laid my head back on his shoulder.  Inuyasha squeezed my shoulders gently.  He separated our bodies, and took my left hand in his, and stared deeply into my eyes, whatever he was about to say was serious. 

"It sure does fly…  That's why we have to cease the moment and do what our hearts tell us to do, because Kagome, I love you, I'm head over heels in love with you, and I have never felt this way in my life before. That's why I've brought you here, to the ballroom with me, because Kagome, I've been given the chance to take this moment and make it the greatest it can be and I plan to do it…"

I stared back at him with an expression of question.

"What do you mean?" 

His right hand left mine and he put his hand in his pocket to retrieve something—then he stopped his actions from withdrawing whatever it was he wanted form his pocket and took his hand out of his pocket, for someone had barged into the ballroom and ruined our moment.  His gentle smile had quickly turned into a frown as he turned to look who had rudely interrupted us.  It was a messenger—he came running up to us and stopped right in front of us and held his stomach as he took in ragged breaths of air.

"Prince Inuyasha, I have an urgent message from the King Inu Mamoru."

Inuyasha growled and then rolled his eyes.

"What is it that he wants **_now_ of all the times in the world?"**

The messenger took another breath and proceeded with the message.

"King Inu Mamoru wants you to take Princess Kagome into hiding with Queen Eriko, then he wants you to retrieve your sword Tetsuaiga come help him gather up troops for battle.  There are troops approaching us from western lands and they are coming in terms of battle.  This was totally unexpected and we need you now."

"Do you know who our opponents are?"

"No, I do not, sir."

Inuyasha's face paled and worry filled his eyes.

"I'll be there immediately, now go and start spreading the word to the villagers, tell them all men that are capable of fighting to report to the castle, and the women are to come to the palace also.  They will set up medical stands in the main entrance, and only the main entrance, I don't want pedestrians roaming around the castle at free will."

With those words the messenger ran out of the room to deliver the message.  Inuyasha turned to the men in the band.

"Stop playing your music.  I want you to report to the front of the castle, there you should find equipment and weapons for battle.  I want every one of you suited for war.  Our kingdom is being attacked, now go!"

At once, they all dropped their instruments and went running out of the ballroom to do as they were told.  We were alone in the ballroom once more.  Inuyasha turned back to face me, his eye were calm and soft once again, he pulled me into an embrace then held me at arm's length.  He gently smiled at me.

"Looks like what I wanted to say will just have to wait again…"

I smirked at him drew in a deep breath.

"It sure does, but I'll be around, you'll eventually tell me…"

His eyes glazed over with worry and concern.

"But just in case I'm not around to tell you later, I want you to remember me by this…"

He pulled me into a tight embrace and passionately kissed me.  His lips danced across mine, pressing hard with passion and desire, as if there were no tomorrow.  It took me a while to get out of my shock from his actions but once I did I kissed him back with just as much enthusiasm.  His hands roamed from my shoulders to my lower back, each touch was as gentle as the one before.  My hands tightly grasped his shoulder blades and then proceeded to caress his lower back.  Our clothes were getting ruffled but neither of us cared.  We went a little further as I opened my mouth just enough to grant Inuyasha access to a deeper kiss.  He gratefully took the offer and explored different regions of my mouth.  I was starting to get dizzy from the lack of air but I didn't care, this moment was too beautiful to ruin.  My hands roamed to his chest and I slowly started to untie his shirt at the collar, then slowly opened up his shirt so my hands could explore the unclaimed regions of his chest.  His chest was firm and unbelievably toned.  Let's just say I made sure that my hands slid across his six pack….  While I was busying myself with his masculine muscles his hands landed on the buttons at the back of my dress of which he slowly started to unfasten.  They became loose one by one until my back was fully exposed and the sleeves drooped at my shoulder—but no lower. Then slowly the kiss lightened and we broke apart, both gasping for air.  I smiled at him as I ran my fingers across the necklace he gave me. 

"I don't think now is the time for this…  You have a battle to win, and trust me I will always remember that kiss, but I know you're going to be fine.  I just expect another one when this is all over."  

He gave me a devilish grin.

"Now, **_that_**, would be my pleasure."

We both fastened up out clothes than he quickly took my hand and we ran towards the kitchen door on the other side of the ballroom.  We entered the kitchen and Inuyasha kneeled down in front of the stove and knocked on a rather large floor tile 5 times.  It popped open and exposed a dark entrance.  It was a secret passageway entrance to somewhere unknown to me. 

"Kagome, slide down this shaft and once you reach the bottom, go forward, which is the only way you can go, until the path splits into four different trails.  Go to the one farthest to the right.  Keep going until you see an open stairway leading down on your left.  At the bottom of the stairs are there is a little  room with everything you and my mother will need to survive until the battle is over.  I want you to stay there, don't come out of hiding until I come and get you.  I don't want anything happening to you.  You go now, and I'll go get my mother, she'll be with you shortly."

He brought me over to the hole.  I sat on the floor, my legs dangling over the edge.  I looked at him and smiled.

"I love you Inuyasha, come back to me."

He smiled back at me.

"I'll try my hardest, love."

He put his hand on my back to comfort me, and then pushed me down the hatch.   

A/N:  See, that wasn't such a long wait after all.  Finals are only a few days away, but I decided to take a day off from studying to write this chapter for the people out there who read this fic.  Well, I hope you liked it, especially the ballroom, that was my favorite part to write. ^_^


	4. Death and Deceit

A/N:  Before I start this chapter, I would like to thank you all for your patience.  Trust me, I didn't forget about it.  It was just a long chain of time consuming events and bad luck that kept me away from this fic for a while.  For those of you that still read my fic, once again thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter.

__

__

_Through the Rain___

_Chapter 4_

_Death and Deceit_

_By ShimmerSweet_

After Inuyasha had taken his mother into hiding with Kagome he set off to retrieve Tetsuaiga.  He entered his bedroom and went straight to the left wall where the concealed Tetsuaiga was hanging from the wall.  He smirked at it.

"Long time no see?  Huh, old buddy…"

It was no lie that he hadn't needed Tetsuaiga for a while so therefore he saw no need to bring it with him where ever he went, which was much to his father's dismay.  For some reason his father had seen it as the most important thing for him to carry Tetsuaiga, but he had always carried it before…  Why did he just suddenly stop carrying it with him… He couldn't remember… So Inuyasha just dismissed the thought from his mind and carried on to his original intentions, he didn't have time to waste on thinking about irrelevant things.  Inuyasha reached out and grasped the sword but a splitting pain shot from his chest to his head. 

"What the hell…?"

 His head felt as if it were hit with a sludge hammer 50 times and it felt as if everyone of his ribs were broken.  He quickly dropped the Tetsuaiga and stared at it as it clattered on the floor as he held his head with his hands to try and ease the pain.  But before he knew it the pain disappeared.  Still gasping for air Inuyasha knelt beside his sword, an expression of bewilderment, confusion, and question on his face all at once. 

"What happened…"

He extended a finger and touched it pulling back his finger quickly, but nothing happened.  No surge of any kind of energy came from the sword.  Just to be safe he tapped it again and nothing happened once again.  

"That was strange… maybe that's why I haven't been carrying it with me everywhere I go."  

With those last words he dismissed the thought of the haywire Tetsuaiga.  He grabbed it and dashed towards the main entrance to the castle where his father and troops were preparing for the upcoming battle.  He would try to persuade his father into hiding with Kagome and his mother because he was just too old to be fighting.  His young days were over but he was too stubborn to see that.  Once he arrived to the gathering he was pleased to see that most of the men were suited and already marching to the borders of the kingdom, and the women's medical stations were ready and standing by just in case they were needed.  Hopefully his father didn't leave already, he had to find him.  So he quickly pulled aside the captain of the guard to ask if he knew of his father's whereabouts.

"Where is my father at, Accius?"

"Your father has already headed to the border with the first set of troops that were prepared."

Inuyasha growled at him and tightened his grip on the captain's arm.

"You know damn well that he is too old to be out there!  Why did you let him leave!  You should be out there, not him!"

Captain Accius quickly withdrew his arm from Inuyasha's grip before it snapped in half.  Then looked back towards Inuyasha with just as much anger in his eyes and voice as Inuyasha had.

"I told him he shouldn't go, but he said if I tried to stop him he would kill me!  What was I supposed to do?  Besides, someone had to get to the borders because the enemy is less than 20 minutes away!  Even though we are demons, it's hard to defeat the Sengoku Jidai troops that _happen to be quickly approaching because they have mikos in their army and—"_

Inuyasha's eyes widened at what he just heard.  He didn't want to believe it.  Why was Kagome's kingdom attacking them?  He was in disbelief so he cut off Captain Accuis's sentence in deep disbelief of what he was hearing.

"Did you say the Sengoku Jidai troops?  Why would they want to fight us?"

"Yes sir, it's the Jidai troops, we had a scout go out earlier to see who we were up against, and so far they have about 100 more troops than we do.  But sir, we still do not know of their motives for attacking us and—"

Inuyasha had heard enough, he had to get to the borders to retrieve his father for his mother and his own sake.  He quickly charged out of the front entrance and headed towards the border, armed only with his sword—Tetsuaiga.  Even though the borders were far away from the castle he reached them in less than 5 minutes with his extraordinary speed.  But when he got there the battle had already begun.  Instantly he spotted his father on the white stallion but couldn't get to him.  The volume of troops fighting was just to great, and his father was too far away for him to get to him in one bound so he took his only option—he had to fight his way through.

~

"That's it men!  You can take down this demon filth!  They're nothing!"  

Captain 'Dojan' yelled to the Jidai troops to boost their morale.  But out of the corner of his eye he spotted the prince—Inuyasha, and he was quickly making his way through the battle, he was headed towards his father, King Inu Mamoru.  The prince was not going to ruin his plans now, not after all the years of constructive planning.  There was no way Naraku was going to let his revenge crumble to pieces now.  Naraku quickly ordered 2 of his strongest troops to take charge on the king and another 2 to take care of the prince, or at least keep them busy until he could deal with them personally.  While they set forward to their task Naraku took cover behind a tree where no one could see him.  His face that resembled Captain Dojan quickly melted away and the face of Prince Inuyasha took its place.  He peeked around the trunk of the tree to see if Inuyasha was distracted by the soldiers, and to his liking he was, therefore Inuyasha couldn't get to the king, who was at that point being attacked by Jidai soldiers, and slowly being overcome.  This was the perfect chance for Naraku to step in the situation and do his task.  Naraku appeared at the king's side, still wearing the mask of Inuyasha.  Then spoke to the king in 'desperation' with the voice of Inuyasha.

"Father!  Come with me, you are injured and must come into hiding quickly!"  He said while fending off the Jidai troops.

King Inu Mamoru quickly agreed and Naraku fought off the soldiers who were attacking him and the king.  Then without any further delay they ran off towards the castle.  So far Naraku's plan was running smoothly except for the fact that the real Inuyasha had seen the two run off back towards the castle. 

Inuyasha halted in his fighting and quickly followed his father and 'himself' back towards the castle in silence. 

~

Queen Eriko and I had been in hiding underground for less than an hour and I was starting to get restless.  I couldn't just sit back and relax when I knew that Inuyasha and King Mamoru were out there fighting…  I was a nervous wreck, I kept pacing back and forth in the room that the queen and I would be sharing for the time being.  My hair was coming undone and I was breaking into a light sweat, so I rolled up my sleeves and picked up a hand fan to cool myself.  It still didn't help though, so I decided to continue pacing back and forth to keep my mind off of things.  Queen Eriko looked at me and smiled as she let out a small laugh.  She stood up and walked over to me.

"Child, calm yourself, they can take care of themselves.  My husband has been in 2 wars and countless battles since he has been head of this kingdom.  And for the 60 years he has been the king he has won every one of them."

I looked up at her and smiled back.

"I have no doubt that they won't win this battle, but I just can't help but be worried, I just can't stand the thought of Inuyasha out there fighting for his kingdom and his life.  I feel as if I should do something to help.  I feel useless… I have to do something…"

Queen Eriko took me into an embrace.

"Dearest Kagome, I was exactly like you when Mamoru and I were first married and there was an attack similar to this one… So, that's why I had this room decorated and filled with things to occupy me so I wouldn't have to think about Mamoru out there on the battle field."

Queen Eriko walked to the bookcase in the back of the room and pulled out a green covered book.  The bookcase opened like a door and led to another room.  Queen Eriko motioned for me to follow her as she walked into the hidden room.   Once we entered, the bookshelf slammed behind us.  The room was filled with books and didn't have bare walls or a gloomy atmosphere like the previous room.  She had racks of more clothes, shelves stocked with food and water, and what looked like mixtures and potions.  The walls were decorated with dim and bright burning torches and candles. There were extravagant pictures and armory on the walls, such as swords, shields, bows and arrows, and other lethal weapons.  I was amazed particularly by the golden arrow and cherry wood bow.  When I was younger I always had a knack for that particular weapon, and therefore was trained with it in my self defense lessons that my mother made sure I took.  I went up to the bow and ran my finger down the arc, it was incredible how smoothly cut it was, and how glossy looking it was.  The arrow was just as attention catching just for the reason of it being gold.  I just had to touch it out of curiosity, and the tip of the arrow was the sharpest and most lethal looking arrow I have ever seen.

"Do you like the bow and arrow?"

I turned to my right and Queen Eriko was standing there smiling slightly at me.  I nodded and went back to observing the arrow.  Well aware that she was still standing at my side I asked a question.

"Why do you have so many weapons?"

Queen Eriko was leaning against the wall when I turned to look at her again. She seemed to be staring into space.  Her eyes were glazed with no emotion but a silent tear slid down her cheek.  I was concerned for the older woman.  Why would she cry for no apparent reason?  So in an effort to comfort her I put an assuring hand on her shoulder.  And whispered to her, so I wouldn't startle her.

"What's wrong Queen Eriko?"

She looked at me with a saddened expression on her face.  She turned to the wall of armory and folded her arms as if she were trying to keep warm.

"Mamoru had every one of these weapons put down here to protect me.  He even taught me how to use them all just incase I ever needed to defend myself when he wasn't around.  But the funny thing is…."

Queen Eriko took a deep breath as I watched her anxiously.

"…Is that I never thought I would really need to know of such things because I thought he would always protect me, always keep me safe, he even promised, and I believed him and I still do."

Queen Eriko turned to face me.

"But Kagome dear, he can't do that anymore, for he is about to suffer a fate that I had not predicted and neither of us have thought of before."

Another tear trailed down the queen's face and she closed her eyes to summon the strength to continue.  I took a deep breath and took the queen's hands in mine to reassure her that everything would be okay.  And she opened her eyes and stared at me with heavy grief laid upon her eyes.

"For Kagome, today is m-my husband's last day on this earth.  He will die, and there's nothing either of us can do for him.  Naraku will receive his revenge today."

I was taken aback by her words.  All the air from my chest escaped me and it felt as if my heart stopped for a minute.  What was she talking about?  Had the stress gotten to her or had she gone mad?  Once I had composed myself I found that Queen Eriko had her knees pulled to her chest and her arms tightly wrapped around her legs.  Her face was hidden in her chest and her body was shaking violently as she cried silent tears.  I got on my knees beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace at which she accepted and hugged me back. She was still crying so I gently stroked her hair and rubbed her back to try and soothe her.

"Don't worry, Queen Eriko.  You don't know this for sure, it's probably just your nerves.  It's okay, everyone will be fine and this will be over before—"

She leaned back and looked at me and shook her head, and hiccupped as she explained herself.

"Kagome, I wish you were right but you're not.  My husband will die today because I saw it in a vision.  And my visions have never been wrong.  I just wish that this one had come earlier… Th-then I might have b-been able to warn him of this event."

~

Naraku led the King into the castle and straight to the medical facilities.  But King Mamoru refused and insisted that Inuyasha take him to the drawing room.  King Mamoru stumbled into the room and took a seat by the window.  He motioned for his son to come and take a seat next to him.  

"Son, this battle doesn't look like it will turn out well.  We've never fought an army with Mikos before…"

Naraku got closer to the king acting as if he cared but was eager to here what he had to say.

"Inuyasha, I need you to take care of your mother for me if I don't make it.  You will be the king and will have to be strong for the kingdom, but if you need any guidance always ask counselors and I have also left some helpful notes in that drawer over there in that desk."  He pointed towards the top right drawer then made an effort to stand and hobbled over towards the door.  "I must go help the soldiers now."

Naraku ran towards the king and stood before him.  "But father, if you don't come back, what will happen to the Shikon Jewel?  I will need to know of its whereabouts in order to protect it from all evil…. Father what may I ask is wrong?"  

King Mamoru's face turned to an expression of curiosity and bewilderment.  "I have never told you of the Shikon Jewel, how is it that you know of it?"

"Mother told me."  Naraku replied, just a little too quickly.

King Mamoru looked into Inuyasha's eyes and for just an instant he saw them flicker from amber to a shade of dark brown.  He stepped away from his son and withdrew his sword, pointing it straight towards his son's chest.  "Who are you?  You're not my son.  He knows nothing of the Jewel and his mother knew not to tell him of it.  Now show your self!"

Naraku laughed and slowly let the form of Inuyasha melt away and the form of a young prince with long dark hair appear instead.  This was the form of which the king knew as Naraku.  "I can't pull anything over on you though, can I?  It must have been the color change in my eye.  It's hard to hold a form sometimes… but I was hoping you didn't notice it."

King Mamoru was overwhelmed with shock.  What were the odds of his formidable foe to get this close to him unnoticed?  "What do you want?  How did you get here?  How did you survive?"

Naraku shook his head in disapproval.  "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you know that you should always expect the unexpected.  But I guess you just figured because I was gone for so many years there were no chances of my survival.  Now did you?  But that's your mistake and my accomplishment.  It's quite ironic that the tables have turned, now isn't it?"

King Mamoru's stare towards Naraku was like ice.  "How did you—"

"Get here,"  Naraku rolled his eyes and frowned at Mamoru.  "Yes, you already asked that question.  Well, I might as well tell you since you're going to die today.  Now that I think of it, I did all this due to one of your countless mistakes.  You see, since your son, Inuyasha, never knew of the Jewel, he must have never known of me either, for you never told him of me.  So I took a chance, I watched him, and I noticed that he didn't carry Tetsuaiga with him constantly, which was much to your dismay.  So one day while he was outside I embraced the chance to take over his mind, of which I did successfully.  My magic would cause him pain every time he would touch Tetsuaiga.  You see, the sword would reflect my magic, causing your son to feel that pain.  So with him leaving the sword behind my mind control grew stronger, except for when he was near you and the castle.  I still had control but he had some free will." 

Mamoru's face dropped as he was told Naraku's plot.  Now that he thought of it, his son's behavior wasn't exactly of the norm.  

Naraku smirked.  "Shocking, isn't it?  That all this could happen, right under your nose?  Well as you know, I had control over your son and decided to use him to charm the princess of the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom.  And to my pleasure she fell head over heels for him.  With much more plotting on my hands I figured a way to get her here to your castle.  But I had the whole situation set up to look like the princess was abducted by Inu soldiers.  Knowing how much Queen Higurashi despises demons it wasn't hard to get her to send her army of soldiers and Mikos over to your kingdom, so they could retrieve her precious daughter.  As you know Inu demons or any demons rather, have a hard time fending off Mikos.  So as they are fighting outside as a distraction I brought you up here out of the fighting and away from your shoulders.  You are weakened; you have no chance against me.  So let's just avoid all the mayhem.  Just show me where the Shikon Jewel is and I promise you and your wife a quick gruesome death, instead of the long gruesome one I was planning."

Mamoru's anger flared and he rushed towards Naraku, swinging his fierce, formidable, blade.  Naraku dodged with ease as Mamoru swung with blinded rage and anguish.  With another strong swing Mamoru left his back open accidentally as he missed his target.  Naraku took the advantage and elbowed him in the back, sending the old king to his knees on the floor, gasping for air.

Naraku kicked the king's blade away and proceeded to kick him until he was laid on his back.  Mamoru's ribs were broken, making it hard to breathe and his face was scratched up pretty bad.  Naraku stomped his heel into the king's chest and twisted it in hopes to hear the king scream in agony, but not a sound came.

Naraku frowned at the king under his foot.  "Still as stubborn as ever I see.  So stubborn as to not even scream?  Now tell me where the Jewel is!"

"I'll never give you what you want!"  The king said as he closed his eyes in pain.

At that moment Inuyasha kicked the door in and his eyes widened in horror.  He withdrew Tetsuaiga from its sheath and growled in anger.  "Back away from my father."

Naraku slowly backed away from the king and smirked at Inuyasha.  "I see your courage to defend your kingdom and save your father has given you the strength to over power my mind control while I wasn't watching but I can fix that."

King Mamoru sat up and reached for his son quickly.  "Run son!  He has control on your mind!"

Inuyasha's face was puzzled.  "What?"

"Leave, now!"  His father yelled.

But Inuyasha refused, he wanted to help his father, but that didn't happen.  Once he ran to his father's side Naraku waved a hand and Inuyasha stopped in his tracks.  He was frozen to the spot.  He could still move his mouth and eyes though.

"Who are you and what do you want!"

Naraku smirked, "Such a temper, just like your father.  My apologies, but I can't let you help your father.  You see though, you can help me with a favor.  Since your father is so uncooperative and won't tell me of the whereabouts of the Shikon Jewel, I'll just have to kill him.  So, you can kill him for me, that's much more pleasing in my eyes."

"Never!"  Inuyasha yelled but then his eyes glazed over with no emotion and he withdrew Tetsuaiga from its sheath.

King Mamoru's eyes widened with shock and horror.  "Inuyasha! No!"

Naraku snapped his fingers and nodded towards the king.  "Put him out of his misery, now!  Drive your sword into his chest!"

Without any hesitation Inuyasha pulled back his sword and thrust it in his father's chest, leaving him limp on the floor and Naraku quite pleased.

A/N:  @_@ I can't believe I just wrote that… But don't worry, the story will turn around… I hope ^_^     

So until next time, please leave your reviews.  I would appreciate it.

~ShimmerSweet


	5. The Real Truth

A/N:  I know, I know, that cliffhanger was evil but I thought it was tasteful for the story.  Anyway, here's the next chapter, I didn't want to leave you guys hangin' from my cliffhanger for long that would be just plain mean.

Disclaimer:  As always and forever I do not own Inuyasha…… unless some sort of freaky inheritance happened or something like that…  I really should stop daydreaming  ::sigh::

_Through the Rain_

_Chapter 5_

_The Real Truth_

_By ShimmerSweet_

Naraku walked over to the king's body and patted Inuyasha on the shoulder as if to say 'job well done'.  His smirk soon turned into pure laughter, evil laughter, while Inuyasha just stood there, solid and unknowing to what he had just done. 

Naraku knelt beside the king to stare at his emotionless, pale face with Tetsusaiga, his own fang, protruding from his chest.  "You have no idea how entertaining this whole ordeal was to me."

Naraku walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain, looking upon the fighting on the Inu Kingdom land.  "Not only did I kill you but your kingdom will soon be in ruin."  Naraku turned to look at the lifeless body of King Mamoru with his evil smirk still attached to his face.  But it soon dropped once he noticed the king's body and Tetsusagia glimmering a soft color of gold.  "What the—"

Before Naraku could continue with his sentence, the golden light surrounding the king grew brighter and combusted into a powerful gust of wind and phenomenal power.  Naraku screamed in agony as he clutched his head that slowly started to distort due to the cutting winds.  Then without as much as a blink of an eye Naraku was gone without a trace.  Inuyasha's closed expression was washed away, and his eyes were no longer surrounded with a haze of control.  Inuyasha blinked his eyes as he looked at his father on the floor with disbelief.

Inuyasha's eyes widened with realization as he dropped to his knees by his father's side.  Looking down at his lap, and his long bangs falling over his eyes for he felt he didn't have the right to look at his father for the crime he had just committed.  "I-I remember it all….  I didn't mean to… I never meant to kill you."  He clenched his fists by his side even harder as he took another look at his father and the glowing sword.  His sad words soon turned into hatred as he thought of who had manipulated his mind the entire time.  For the whole time he was under Naraku's control he knew of everything that happened but couldn't control himself.  It was like he was viewing his life from a first person view for the amount of weeks Naraku had him as his puppet.  He clenched his teeth as he released a growl of pure hatred from his throat.  "Naraku…"

Inuyasha's head snapped up to look at his father.  He couldn't believe his eyes, his father was moving, and he was trying to sit up but fell back down from his efforts since his sword had him pinned to the ground.  Immediately Inuyasha withdrew the sword from his father's chest and helped him stand and guided him to the nearest chair.  His father's breaths were rapid and rigid at first but slowly returned to normal as the hole in his chest grew smaller and smaller until there were no traces of it anymore.  Inuyasha knew that full demons had exceptional healing powers, but this was beyond abnormal at how fast the wound had healed itself.  How could he even be living after a deadly blow like that from Tetsusaiga?

Inuyasha's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.  "How did you survive such a blow from Tetsusaiga?"

King Inu Mamoru stood and dusted off his clothing and stared at the hole in his shirt, he smirked towards his son.  "Rather nasty ordeal that just occurred, wouldn't you say?  But I'm rather thankful that you stabbed me with Tetsusaiga and no other sword.  For Tetsusaiga is made of my fang, and refuses to hurt me, but instead had a healing power towards myself."  His smirked dropped and his face became severely stern.  "But this occasion is only more proof as to why you should carry Tetsusaiga every where you go.  It protects you against advanced mind control as Naraku recently had you under and other manipulating and lethal things." 

Inuyasha's eyebrows slowly eased apart.  "So is Naraku dead?  He just disappeared."

Mamoru let out a sarcastic small laugh.  "No, of course not, but he is weakened by a great deal…  But you were aware of what you were doing weren't you?"

Inuyasha rubbed his forehead as he racked at his mind to remember the events of the last couple of weeks.  "Yeah, most of it anyway, some spots are blank, but not many.  Why?  What does that mean?"

Before the king could explain the door opened in a rush.  It was Accius and he looked much more relieved than he had the last time Inuyasha had seen him.  He went over to the window and pointed at the battle field.

"The Sengoku Jidai troops have come to a halt in order to reach some sort of understanding.  They say that we have their princess and demand her return or else they will continue.  They are only concerned with her return and would be willing to stop the senseless killing.  I don't know what makes them think we have her but—"

"We do have her Accius, tell them that she will be returned immediately."  King Inu Mamoru stated.

"But how—"

"No questions just go relay the message."  Inuyasha said as he folded his arms.

With a mutter of a "Yes sir"  Accius was gone from the room.

"The poor child, you know you'll have to tell her the truth about how you feel."  King Inu said as he stared out of the window.

"Keh,"  Inuyasha turned his back to his father in his usual defiant stance.

King Inu walked to the door and opened it.  "Don't be like that, she really did love you.  Don't be hard on her she's a very nice girl."

Inuyasha walked towards his father, rolling his eyes.  "As if I care, what she feels is not my concern, old man."

King Inu turned his back towards his son, rather disgusted at how he treated others, but there was nothing he could do about it now.  "Come son, we have important matters to attend to."  With the swish of his cape he left the room with Inuyasha following at a distance.

~

After calming Queen Eriko's nerves we sat in silence, leaving her to her thoughts and me to mine.  Was it true?  Was it true that the king would die?  Or was the queen mistaken?  But she said herself that her visions have never been wrong… So if the strong and formidable king of the Inu Kingdom died, what was destined to happen to Inuyasha?  Was he safe?  One could only hope.

On the other side of the wall, in the original room we had entered I heard footsteps and calls for the queen and myself, but Queen Eriko didn't seem to notice.  So I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.  Her eyes were blank with no emotion.  My heart softened for her.  

"Some one's calling for us, should I go and see?" 

She nodded and I opened the secret door and closed it quietly behind me.  In the room stood one of the queen's personal servants.  She looked a little too happy considering the battle going on right above our heads. 

"Were you the one calling for the queen and me?"  

She nodded.  "Yes I am, I am here to retrieve you and the queen from hiding.  The battle is over, we have come to some sort of peace terms with the Sengoku Jidai troops.  Now, where is the queen?"

My eyes widened in shock.  "Wha, what did you just say about the Sengoku Jidai troops?"

"That they agreed to stop attacking if we gave them something, but I'm not sure what it is…"  She put a thoughtful finger to her chin.  "Anyway, where is the queen, I'm quite sure she can't be comfortable down here…"

Obviously Queen Eriko had heard our discussion because soon after she emerged from behind the secret wall, her eyes looking desperate with a spark of hope.

"Janelle, you say terms of peace, does that mean that my husband is negotiating them?" 

Janelle cocked an eyebrow.  "Yes, of course, who else would it be…?"  Then her face softened with concern.  "Have you had another vision, my queen?"

Eriko's face lightened and softened as her burden was lifted from her shoulders. But some concern still lingered.  "Yes, I have Janelle, I need to see Mamoru as soon as possible."

Janelle nodded and led us out of hiding, into the main halls and corridors, and up a set of stairs.  The whole time I was silent, lost in my thoughts as the queen and Janelle talked.  Why would my kingdom attack the Inu Kingdom for no apparent reason?  Didn't mother think I was off in a distant land by now?  Or did the Inu Kingdom mistake our army for another?  But what other army had the name Sengoku Jidai, or something close to it…?

Janelled cleared her throat to get my attention.  I looked at her, but still pondered over why our troops would attack the Inu Kingdom…  Maybe Inuyasha had the answer?

"Princess Kagome, you may enter, the king and prince wish to talk to you."  Janelle's arm was extended towards the door where the queen had already entered.

The queen's expression was just as full of question as mine.  The king's was soft and calm as usual.  And Inuyasha looked as if he were mad at the world, he wouldn't even make eye contact with me.  His usual kind expressions and gestures were gone and replaced with harder more stubborn ones.  What had happened to him…?  Oh no, it couldn't be that he was mad at me?  Maybe he thought it was I who called the Sengoku Jidai army?  But he knows I would never do such a thing...  

My eyes started to fill with tears as the unanswered questions spiraled out of control in my mind.  He just knew I wouldn't call my army for no reason, didn't he?  

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was the Sengoku Jidai troops attacking.  If I knew I would have stopped it.  I'm so sorry, I don't know how all this happened… I never meant for anyone to get hurt…"  I couldn't control myself any more as I let the tears spill down my cheeks as I thought of the soldiers that were injured and that possibly died.  I couldn't dare look them in the face, they were probably livid with me.  Inuyasha, didn't even show any emotion of caring as I wept openly into my hands.

Someone came to my side and placed a strong masculine hand on my shoulder to comfort me.  Instantly I looked up, hoping to make eye contact with Inuyasha, but it wasn't him it was King Inu Mamoru.

The king smiled at me gently.  "We know you didn't know about the attack.  You see, this kingdom has many enemies, one being of the name Naraku.  He has powerful magic that allows him to take on different forms and is cunning enough to manipulate people to his liking."

I wiped the tears from my face and turned to face the king.  "But what does that have to do with my kingdom's army attacking you, they had no reason…"

The king patted me on my shoulder again, to try and calm me.  "They did have reason, it is that Naraku made it look as if the Inu Kingdom kidnapped you of which we must return you after our discussion….  But back to the matter, your kingdom's army has mikos which makes it extremely difficult for an all demon kingdom to defeat."

I was extremely shocked at how this Naraku had used my mother's kingdom.  I looked towards Inuyasha but he still wasn't looking at me.  That sent shivers up my spine.

"But you didn't kidnap me, I ran away.  I came to see Inuyasha.  You know that, Queen Eriko knows that and so does Inuyasha.  My mother will surely believe all four of us."

The king withdrew his hand and looked towards the floor.  "Yes, I'm sure she usually would but you see you were also part of Naraku's plan."

I was speechless, how else could he possibly use me farther than what he already had.  I don't even know who Naraku is and he's using me…

"How…?"

King Inu wasn't looking at me but instead looked towards Inuyasha.  "Son, I think you should be the one to tell her."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, keeping his arms crossed.  "Keh, whatever."

My heart stopped in my chest as the thick air of unease filled the room.  What he had to tell me couldn't be that bad… or could it?

Inuyasha walked around the desk to get closer to me but still stayed at a distance.  He wore an expression of uncaring and kept his arms folded with attitude.

"You know how our relationship was, and how you were always sneaking out to see me?  And slowly your mother began to question your actions…"  

He paused and cocked an eyebrow at me as if to say 'do you understand?'  I nodded for him to continue.

He leant back on the desk before he continued.  "So when you go home to your mother she will think you a liar when you say you came here of free will.  After all, why would she believe you?  You did lie to her countless times to come see me.  She would just think you were covering for me and the Inu Kingdom."

There was a small lump in my throat which made it hard to swallow.  "But what does that have to do with me being apart of Naraku's plan?  I just did all those things to be with you and you know it.  You know I love you with all of my heart and would never do anything to hurt you."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.  "Keh, you haven't figured it out yet?"

A wave of confusion and hurt washed over my body and I had the feeling of cold ice water being dumped over my head.  "What are you talking about Inuyasha?  Why are you being so cold to me?  You've never acted like this before."

I looked towards the queen and she was taken aback by all this news just as I was.  And the king looked everywhere in the room except for me. 

Inuyasha looked at me with eyes so barren of love and care, very unlike the way they usually were when he was around me.  "He had me under mind control wench.  He made me love you, and eventually you fell head over heels for me.  He had you so blinded by love that you lost your mother's trust and would come running to me no matter where I was.  That's how he got you here, at your own free will, told your mother of the supposed 'kidnapping' and unleashed the miko army of Sengoku Jidai on us."  Inuyasha cocked his eyebrow.  "Any questions?"

My eyes blurred with tears as I nodded.  "Why would he want to use me to get to you?  I mean, why does he have such a grudge with me and my family, and you guys also?"  

My lips started to tremble as tears slid down my face once again.  Queen Eriko came and embraced me in a soft motherly hug as I wept openly into her chest.  She rocked me back and forth and rubbed the back of my head to try and calm me.  "He has nothing against your family dear, he just uses who ever he needs which was your kingdom's army to get back at his enemies, which in this case was the Inu family."

My speech was muffled as I spoke because my head was buried in the queen's chest.  I couldn't stand to look at Inuyasha or King Inu.  "B-but what does he want w-with your family?"

"Don't worry about such trivial things dear."  The Queen said as she continued to rock me back in forth in her arms.

I slowly withdrew from the queen's embrace and was shocked to see that she was crying also.  She smiled at me softly as I turned towards Inuyasha, the tears still pouring from my eyes.  "So, all this time, it wasn't your true feelings…?  You never loved me as I love you?  It was Naraku controlling you the whole time?"

Inuyasha's face softened a tiny bit for a while but quickly went back to it's hard scowl.

"Keh, no, it was never me who loved, or even liked you, but I was aware of everything that happened but had nothing in my power to control my own actions.  That was Naraku using me the whole time."  Then he turned his head to look out of the window.

I looked towards the king who was still standing in the same spot.  He briefly made eye contact with me.  He must have felt extremely guilty.  

"Kagome, dear, your kingdom's carriage is awaiting you."  He looked directly into my eyes, his expression was soft and understanding.  "And if it means anything to you, I would like to apologize for this whole incident.  You should have never been dragged into this whole situation."

I smiled softly at the king.  "I know you never meant for this to happen…"

I turned from the king and walked up to Inuyasha.  I took the necklace he had given me from my neck and reached for his hand.  He turned to look at me, his face confused and full of question.  I smiled at him and opened his hand and placed the necklace in it, placed both of my hands on his hand to close it with the necklace inside.  

"You may have never loved me, but I loved and still do love you with all my heart no matter how hurt I feel now.  I just hope you find someone to love like I have loved you, and when you do, give her this.  She'll appreciate it and cherish it just as much as I did." 

Another tear rolled down my cheek as I got on my tip toes and kissed Inuyasha on the lips for the last time.  His face was shocked and puzzled as I stepped away from him and looked towards King Inu and Queen Eriko.

King Inu stood there with a smile of sincerity and compassion.  And Queen Eriko still had tears running down her cheeks.  I looked towards the both of them and smiled.  "I thank you for your hospitality, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would show me to my carriage.  I would like to go home."

Queen Eriko gave me a quick hug and a muffled "take care".  

King Inu just nodded and lead me out of the castle and to my awaiting carriage that would take me back home to the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom.

A/N:  Wow, that was a sad ending to this chapter.  Pleas R&R until the next time.

So tata till then!

ShimmerSweet 


	6. Going Home to Drama

A/N:  I know some of you are unhappy with the last chapter's events, but all I can say to you is to please keep reading…. And please don't be mad at me!

Disclaimer:  Never have owned Inuyasha and never will.

_Through the Rain_

_Chapter 6_

_Going Home to Drama_

_By ShimmerSweet_

In the depths of a dark forest sat Naraku, breathing heavily and clutching the various wounds he had just received.  He was weak and could barely defend himself in his state.  "Dammit, how could I forget that his own fang wouldn't hurt him?  I almost had him."  Naraku clenched his fist so tight that his finger nails drew blood from his palm, but quickly snapped his eyes over to the far side of the clearing.  A spot that was too dark to see anyone that might stand there, but he sensed the other presence.

"Looks like your plan had a flaw after all." 

Kagura emerged from the blind spot with her arms crossed and an evil smirk to match.

"If I wanted your input Kagura I would have asked for it."

Kagura crossed the clearing and stood before Naraku.  "I'm not here to criticize you Naraku, I just thought that I'd drop in to see if you needed any assistance."

Naraku's sly smirk spread across his face.  "You tend to surprise me sometimes Kagura.  But now that you mention it I have thought of a new plan."

~

As I sat in the carriage on the way home I couldn't help thinking about Inuyasha.  The incredibly blue sky reminded me of his gentleness, and the soft pearly clouds of his hair.  The sun even reminded me of his beautifully colored amber eyes.  The clean crisp smell of the forest reminded me of his scent along with some of the great memories we had…  I love him and he knows that.  I just couldn't help it… everything I saw or smelled or touched reminded me of him.  I'm so hurt and confused I don't know what to do.  Well, the only thing I can't do is cry, because I think I have no more tears to cry.  Why did love have to hurt so badly?  And why is it said that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?  Because at this precise moment I would have gone with choice two…

As I got out of the carriage there was no one to great me besides the guards.  Was mother still angry with me?  I wasn't ready to go and face my mother yet.  I wasn't ready to admit that she was right about Inuyasha all of this time.  So I decided to take a stroll to the garden, hopefully thinking that if I saw our last meeting place that it would remind me of the happy times that we had.  Even though the memories were packed with false emotions and bittersweet words they still felt good to remember. But as I stood before the bench, water fountain, and white roses, my heart broke.  There was a tight pull in my chest, a feeling of emptiness, which took my breath away and made me fall to my knees.  It didn't hurt me physically, but it did emotionally.  I thought I couldn't spare another tear, but I was wrong as I wept at my knees.  The pain was so great because the love was to strong that I felt.

As I cried there was a gentle tap on my shoulder which made me jump as I turned suddenly to the small figure behind me.  It was Souta and he looked just as innocent as a child could look except he had sorrow in his eyes, but for whom?  Surely he couldn't have such burden at his age.  He stood before me, his eyes filling with tears and within a blink of an eye he took me into a tight embrace as he started to cry into my shoulder.  I took him into my lap as I stroked the back of his head in an effort to calm him.  

"I-I missed you s-so much K-Kagome.  I was scared t-that you'd never come b-back."

That pulled a heartstring. I never knew the little squirt cared that much about me.  Sure we had arguments sometimes and got along fine at other times, but I never noticed that he would even care if I'd gone missing.  With tears coming down my cheeks for Souta instead of Inuyasha, I hugged him tighter to me.

"It's all okay now Souta.  I'm back now, so don't cry.  You're making me cry."

Souta withdrew from my hug and smiled at me as he wiped away his tears.  "Okay, but you know you can't tell anyone that I cried over you.  You have to promise."

I smiled as I stood up and wiped my own tears away.  "I promise Souta."

He jumped to his feet and was grinning from ear to ear.  "Wanna go to the pond with me?  The frogs are pretty big there now."

With a sweat drop I smiled back.  "No thanks Souta, I think I better go see Grandpa and Mom now."

His smile dropped a bit in disappointment but he proceeded in running towards the lake with a quick "okay" and a small wave.  It was time for me to go see mother so I headed inside the castle.  The guard by the main staircase told me she was in her bedroom.  He obviously knew where I was headed.  On the way to mother's room I saw Grandpa who was happy to see me, and embraced me as well.  But after our greeting he suggested that I go directly to see mother before I do anything else.

Before I knew it I was standing before my mother's bedroom door, and with a quick breath I knocked.  A weak "come in" responded which automatically had me concerned.  I walked into the room.  It was dark due to the closed curtains, so I decided to open them so I could see my mother.  Once the sunlight poured in I saw her.  She was in bed, a little pale and sickly looking.  I immediately went to the side of her bed.  I got on my knees so she could see me better.  What had happened to her?  I'd only been gone a couple of days.

"Mother, what has happened to you?"

Mom fluttered her eyes open just a bit and looked at me.  She smiled as she put a hand to my cheek.  And in a weakened voice that sounded tired and raspy, she replied.  "What happened to me doesn't matter.  All that matters is that you are home safely and your brother and grandfather are safe also."

I pressed my hand over hers and a silent tear slid down my cheek.  My mother was so frail… and this dramatic change happened only over two days?  Something wasn't right.  I couldn't stand to see her like this.  She's my mother and I still do love her even if we don't see eye to eye on things.

"Don't cry Kagome, you're much prettier when you smile."  Mother said as she withdrew her hand and motioned for a hug, of which I happily replied.

"Mother, how come you are so ill?"  I said as I hugged her a little tighter.

"I guess the mind control took a little too much out of her… After all, she is just a human."

I jerked my head towards the direction of a new voice by the window, which was now open, causing the curtains to sway in the breeze. Her eyes were an electrifying green and she wore light weight black armor over her chest, shoulders, forearms, knees and calves.  The chest armor bore a brilliantly colored Inu crest.  She wore her shockingly white elbow length hair tied at the base of her neck.  Her face was young.  She looked of about 25 summers.  But I pushed away the topic of her appearance as anger and fear swelled in my chest.  How dare she just break through my mother's window like that?  How did she even get up here to the second level?

"Who are you?"  I said in a growl from my throat.

She looked at me and smiled.  "I'm Anda.  You must be the dear little Princess Kagome who had her fragile heart broken then stomped on by Inuyasha… What a pity."

Okay, I really didn't need this now.  Why couldn't I just get a break from all this drama for just one day?  I would like to have a word with the gods who thought my life was a practical joke.  "How do—"

"I know everything Kagome so don't even waste your breath on asking why I know because I won't tell you."  She continued to smile to herself… conceited cow.

I looked towards my mother as I still held her hands in my own.  Her eyes were glazed over and she laid there comatose…  What was wrong with my mother?  I was about to ask why Anda had broken into my mother's bedroom when the door came swinging open and a grinning Souta entered.  He ran to me holding two huge frogs in his hand and kept grinning in excitement until he noticed the other person in the room.  He fell silent and stood behind me. 

"Who's she Kagome?"  He whispered to me as I stood to my feet.  I looked towards Souta and gave him the look that said get help.  He nodded and ran out the door.

I looked towards my mother and her eyes seemed as if they had a twinkle of color in them.

"We don't have much time."  Anda withdrew a sword from the sheath on her hip and pointed it towards mother and me.  "Either you come with me now or your mother bites the dust."

I looked towards mother again and was shocked when I saw her whisper 'no' to me.  I just shook my head to deny my mother's order.  I bent over her and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.  I whispered goodbye into her ear and slowly the color drained from her eyes again as she closed them.  She wasn't dead though, I could still see the slow rigid breathing in her chest.

I walked over towards Anda and stared at her with the anger I felt.  Surprisingly I wasn't scared, maybe it was my anger that overwhelmed that emotion.  She smiled at me and put an arm on my shoulder.  "You chose wisely Kagome."

Then before I could even respond there was a quick flash and we were no longer in my mother's room.  We were in a forest.  And another chapter to my gruesome day was on the brink of beginning.

~

"Damn sword."  

Inuyasha said as he thrust it into the sand and walked a couple of feet in front of it to a river.  He sat down at the water's edge staring at his reflection.  He was pissed off at his parents for telling him off about _poor, innocent _Kagome and how he should go reconcile.  Why would he give a damn?  And why should he apologize?  He wasn't the actual one who did or said all those things to her.  And his parents, especially his father had scolded him about carrying his sword at all times.  Was it such a crime to just walk around without it every once in a while?   But what bothered him the most was this new enemy to him.  This Naraku guy, what was his friggin' problem?  King Inu never really told him and he most likely never would.  That left him to many open explanations.  Inuyasha huffed and slashed a nearby tree.  All this thinking was getting on his nerves.

"My, my, you have a temper."  

Inuyasha spun around on his feet and made eye contact with a young mysterious woman.  Why hadn't he detected her scent?

"Who the hell are you?"  Inuyasha snarled.

Her evil smile spread across her face as she withdrew a fan from her kimono sleeve.  "I'm Kagura, and I'll be taking you with me.  Either you come peacefully or kicking and screaming, it's your choice, you choose."

Inuyasha snorted at the idea.  "Like you could ever do that, you'd have no chance."

Kagura smirked.  "Oh, I'll have more of a chance than you would like now that Tetsusaiga is so far away, ne?"

Inuyasha froze as he noticed her point then dashed off toward his sword.  Instantly she wove her fan and the cutting wind immediately attacked Inuyasha causing many open wound.  But he ignored the pain as he neared the sword, 15 feet to go, now 10 then 5 then he ran into what felt like a solid wall, and an electic charge raced through his body.  Inuyasha came crashing to the ground, that impact hadn't knocked him out but took a lot of his strength away, as he lay there as a crispy fried hanyou.

"What the hell was that?"  Inuyasha said as he rubbed his abused, probably broken nose.

Kagura walked within 5 feet of Inuyasha, her evil smirk still plastered on her face.  "Never thought I'd put a barrier around it, now would you?" 

Then she covered her mouth and nose as she threw some sort of powder towards Inuyasha.  

He just cocked an eyebrow at her like she was crazy.  "What was that supposed… to… do….?"  

Inuyasha's speech slurred as his eyes started to flutter close and his mind went blank.  Inuyasha fell to the floor seemingly lifeless.

As the powder settled Kagura withdrew her hand from her mouth and nose.  She walked up to Inuyasha looking down on him in disgust.  "Stupid pup, have you ever heard of sleeping powder?"

~

Souta immediately left the room and bolted towards the first couple of guards he saw.  He had told them of the intruder and they came running into the queen's room but by the time they had arrived the only one who occupied the room was the ill queen.

"B-but she was just here!  That woman and Kagome, they couldn't have just disappeared!"

The only thing that seemed mysterious was that the windows had evidence of being forced into.  That was enough for the soldiers to perform and extensive search in the room and castle, so they set to work.

Souta went to his mother's side to find she was still sleeping.  But once he touched her hand her eyes slid open, full of worry.  "Souta, she took Kagome."

"I know… the soldiers are searching for clues."

Grandpa came to his daughter's side with a damp rag to help suppress her fever.  His eyes were gentle as he tried to sooth his daughter and grandson, secretly covering his own grief.  "They'll find her, I know they will."

One of the soldiers came up to the trio by the bed.  "My apologies for interrupting but we have found substantial evidence as to where Princess Kagome may be."

Grandpa nodded for him to go on.

The soldier extended his hand and exposed a brilliantly colored crest.  "We've found this crest.  It's the crest of an Inu soldier.  This means it was an Inu soldier responsible for Princess Kagome's kidnapping."

Grandpa nodded once again as Souta stared with an open mouth and the queen listened diligently.

Grandpa's face was stern but calm.  "That means we'll just have to go into a full fledge war.  We have to show the Inu Kingdom that we're serious when it comes to these multiple kidnappings."

~

It was past dinner time and Inuyasha hadn't returned to the castle yet so King Mamoru went looking for him with a couple of soldiers with him, just to make the searching process faster.  They searched multiple parts of the forest until they came to the river's edge.  As they inspected the clearing the scent of Inuyasha's blood was present which sent tiny shivers down Mamoru's spine.  The smell of his son's blood made him sick.  He couldn't stand the idea of his son being injured seriously.  Mamoru's jaw dropped as he saw Tetsusaiga sitting in the sand a couple of feet away.  How could his son just leave it lying around like that?  Was he just that thick to not notice how important and powerful the Tetsusaiga was?  

Mamoru approached the sword and took it in his hands.  His stomach dropped as he saw some of his son's blood on the surrounding sand.  "What the hell happened here?"

One of the soldiers approached the king with a wooden arrow in his hands.  "The marks in the sand show a struggle happened here… and the blood has the scent of Inuyasha… and this arrow is made of a type of pine that only grows in the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom…  which means that—"

The low forceful growl that emitted from the king's throat was enough to scare the wits out of the poor soldier.  Mamoru's fist shook with anger by his side.  "… This means that the Sengoku Jidai is responsible for abusing and taking my son.  This means war… and the troops will arrive at the Sengoku Jidai once we are prepared.  We will attack and take no prisoners and leave no survivors."

A/N:  This had to be the fastest chapter I have ever written… yay me.  Well as usual, please leave reviews… I really like them a lot.

Shimmersweet 


	7. A New Plot Emerges

_Through the Rain_

_Chapter 7_

_A New Plot Emerges_

_By ShimmerSweet_

"What the hell?" 

Inuyasha rubbed his head as his face twisted in pain.  He sat up still rubbing his head, studying his surroundings.  He looked at the tree he was lent up against and the wooded surroundings.  He immediately rose to his feet and tried to run away but he violently collided with an invisible wall, knocking him to the ground.  His temper got the best of him and he violently attacked the invisible wall, but to his dismay it wouldn't budge.  His back slid down the wall as he plopped onto the forest floor.  He was extremely upset and looked around for something else to bash but once his eyes landed on me his eyes widened in shock… and my heart broke.  

His face turned from a mask of surprise to seriousness.  "What are _you_ doing here?....  And where are we?"  

It caused me great pain to see him sitting there with those same amber eyes that once loved me but were now barren of any feelings for me besides disgust.  "We're in a forest… somewhere."  I said as I grabbed at the moist soil by my sides.  I looked at him now sitting across from me.  Obviously he wanted more details.  "I don't know where this forest is, and I don't know why we're here.  I just know that I had to come here in order to save my mother.  But some woman brought you here, unconscious, about an hour ago.  You were out cold."

He rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed at something.  "Who has us imprisoned here?  And why?"

He asked the same questions I hoped he could answer but all I could do was shrug my shoulders as I stared at my lap.  I just couldn't look him directly in the eyes.  It hurt too much.  We sat in silence for a while but then Inuyasha's curiosity rose again.

"How did you get here?"

I played with the hem of my sleeve as I answered, still allowing no eye contact.  "A woman named Anda, with green eyes and white hair, dressed as a soldier from your kingdom, brought me here.  It was either I come peacefully or my mother bites the dust.  There was no question in my choice."  I stopped playing with my sleeve and diverted my attention to my nails instead.  "Do you remember how you got here?"

Inuyasha sat with an irritated look on his face.  "Of course I do.  I wouldn't forget that wench."

We sat in silence after his statement.  We occasionally glanced at one another, but every time we caught each other's eye Inuyasha would roll his eyes and look the other way and I would blush and then look down at my lap.  Even though he didn't love me any more, I just couldn't help loving him… you just can't turn love for a person on and off like some kind of switch.

"Well, it appears that Prince Inuyasha has finally awakened from his slumber."

We both spun around at the mysterious, masculine, husky voice behind us.  There stood a fairly attractive man with long midnight hair and dark eyes.  He looked intimidating, yet calm, cool and collected.  Who was this man?

"Naraku…"  Inuyasha's teeth clenched tightly as he growled out a response.

My eyes shot open wide in surprise and my chest heaved in anger.  This was the very man who caused me so much pain in my current life.  Naraku, the very same man standing before me was probably the man I hated most in my entire life.  He caused me to believe that my fairytale life was true and that I would have the fairytale happily ever after of marrying my one true love.  He twisted my whole life around and I had done nothing to this man.  He set my anger to its limit.  My anger was bubbling and overflowing in a hot rush over my body as I dug my nails into the ground.  My arms and fists were so tense that they were shaking.  I glared at this man like I have none other.  I glared at him with pure hatred.  But to Naraku, he took my reaction as an amusing joke as he laughed.

"Poor, poor, princess… Is there something upsetting you?"  Naraku slowly walked up to me and put his hand to my chin.  Shivers ran down my back as a repulsive feeling washed over me like a bucket of cold ice that was dumped over my head.  Immediately I slapped his hand from my face and glared at him without saying a word because my eyes and their expression said it all in their warning.

Naraku looked from me to Inuyasha and smirked, "Feisty little vixen you have here.  You two would have been a fiery little couple.  You two have so much in common.  Your attitudes towards me are amazingly very identical."  Naraku then turned his attention back to me and licked his lips.  "Shame, things didn't work out.  Maybe opposites attract better?  What do you think Kagome?"

I opened my mouth to reply but Inuyasha beat me to the punch.  Inuyasha stood and walked up to Naraku and glared into his cold eyes.  "Leave her out of this Naraku.  She has no purpose in this.  Whatever grief is going on in your head is between me and you.  Now let her go."

Did Inuyasha just defend me?  No, I can't take that seriously, I don't need any more heart ache than I already have.

Naraku just chuckled at Inuyasha's statement.  "None of this has anything to do with _you_ or the princess.  Both of you are actually just pawns in my game.  So just calm down little prince, I still have use for you and the princess, so I won't be disposing of you too soon."

The anger in Inuyasha's chest swelled up and went straight to his claws as he took a swing at Naraku.  But Naraku had vanished into thin air just before Inuyasha's claw connected with Naraku's face.  This obviously pissed Inuyasha off more as he violently kicked the ground and tried to beat the invisible barrier down again.  I shook my head in disgust at his behavior. He acted as a child would.  I couldn't believe I was in love with such an ignorant fool.  It actually was starting to make me mad as I reflected on the way he treated me once he was free of Naraku's mind control.  Then for no reason at all he stops in the middle of his tantrum and stomps over and stares down his nose at me.

"Isn't there anything you can do to help us get out of here?!  Can't you get off your lazy ass and help me think of something!"

And I did just what he said.  I stood, looked him in the eyes and smacked him hard across the face, then brought my hand back and backhanded him across the other cheek.  He had some nerve.

He brought his hand to his cheek and exploded.  "What the hell was that for!"

And I exploded right back.  "For acting like a total ass for no reason!  Where the hell do you get off thinking you can treat me anyway you please!"

He smirked at me.  "It seems you like it.  That's why you fell in love with me isn't it?"

That was a stab right to the heart.  "That was low; there was no reason for that."

"Maybe it was enough to get you mad enough to concentrate on getting out of here and away from me?"

I rolled my eyes.  "Are you trying to sound smart?  Because you're flunking with flying colors." 

"Why thank you princess, you're too kind."

"Whatever."  Why did everything that came out of his mouth lately sound so dumb?  I walked over to where the barrier's edge was and touched it with my finger as I watched the blue waves ripple around my finger.  "If you want to get out come over here and help me."

Inuyasha walked over grinning.  "Now that's more like it.  What do I have to do?"

"Just punch the barrier as hard as you can when I say so."  

Inuyasha quickly nodded and waited.  Then I quickly snatched a couple of strands of his hair from his head, which made him yell.  "What was that for!"

I quickly put my hand to his mouth to shut him up.  "Be quiet, you don't want Naraku to come back now do you?  Besides, I need this to break the barrier."

His eyebrows raised in surprise.  "You know magic?"

I nodded then placed his hair to the barrier with my two fore fingers and concentrated on our two auras.  I had to temporarily merge our essences to fight and weaken the barrier so Inuyasha could easily punch it in.  It wasn't as hard as I thought, because as hard as it was to believe his aura was very wild and ready to fight.  It just made my job easier.  As I felt the power of the barrier quiver under our auras I gave Inuyasha the signal and he punched it to expose a hole.

"Go!  It won't last long!"  I said as I pushed him out and followed him out just as fast.  Immediately the gap in the barrier closed behind us as we rolled to the other side.  We were free.

~

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"  Souta arrived just before his grandfather panting heavily.  "The soldiers… they sent me to tell you they're ready at will to strike."

Grandpa nodded and stroked his chin.  "Then tell them to start marching."

"But Grandpa, isn't there anyway we could not fight?"

Grandpa shook his head and sighed.  "I'm sorry Souta, but we have to get Kagome back at any cost.  Even if it means a bloody future for us all."

~

King Mamoru sat on his horse as he faced his army.  He raised his sword to the men.  "We will go in and leave none unharmed!  We will return with my son and the head of their leader!  No one makes a fool of our people!  Now march onward!"  King Mamoru yelled as he turned and pointed his sword in the direction of the Sengoku Jidai Kingdom.

King Mamoru took a deep breath and whispered to himself.  "I'm sorry Kagome.  I've got to do what's best for my kingdom…  And… I'll find you, my son."

~

Up in a nearby tree stood Kagura, and she frowned as she observed the scene before her.  The prince and princess had just broke the barrier and were escaping.  She sighed at the situation.  She really wasn't up to playing a game of cat and mouse at the moment.  She rolled her eyes and went to find Naraku, which didn't take long.  He was in his usual spot by the river.

Kagura flicked her fan closed and examined her nails.  "They have escaped."

Naraku just sat by the river, tranquil and composed.  "It was bound to happen."

"Aren't you afraid they'll reach their kingdoms and tell what has happened?"

Naraku smirked.  "They won't make it.  This forest is too coarse and dense for them to even tell the difference between north and south.  Besides, if for some reason they do find their way out they won't get to their kingdoms in time to stop my plans.  Their escape might actually help me more than them if they do make it.  As we speak the two kingdoms are readying for war.  Then it will be my time to strike.  Everything is falling into plan, thanks to them."

A/N:  Don't you just feel the climax approaching?  (If you're laughing at that statement, get your mind out of the gutter.)  ^_^


End file.
